Alternate Politics
by JenCamp
Summary: Due to politics, Captain Carter doesn't get the position on SG1. How will this affect the team and her relationship with Col. O'Neill? SamJack AU
1. Chapter 1

Alternate Politics

Disclaimer: Stargate SG-1 belongs to MGM, Gekko, and whoever else stakes claim. I make no money from this and do it for entertainment purposes only.

Summary: Due to politics, Captain Samantha Carter doesn't get the position on SG-1. How will this affect the team and her relationship with Col. Jack O'Neill? Sam/Jack AU.

A/N: I was so not expecting to be posting another story so soon, but I'm bored, my kids are entertaining themselves, and I don't feel like housecleaning! So, here I am!

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This story was completely inspired by the following scene between Col. O'Neill and Lt. Claire Tobias in season three's episode: Shades of Grey

**O'Neill:** You remind me of someone from my old team.

**Tobias:** Major Carter.

**O'Neill:** How do you know her?

**Tobias:** She beat me out of a position at the SGC.

And with that came the following story……………

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**Chapter One**

"Where's Tobias?" General Hammond asked Major Samuels as he walked into the briefing room.

"She's just arrived, sir," Samuels replied, taking his seat at the briefing table.

"Tobias?" Col. Jack O'Neill asked from across the room.

"Yes, Lt. Claire Tobias has been assigned to your team," Hammond replied.

"I'd _prefer_ to put together my own team," O'Neill added.

"Not for this mission, colonel. Tobias is an engineer and has been assigned by the Pentagon."

"A scientist, sir?" Jack whined.

"Yes, colonel, Tobias is a scientist, but she is also an officer. She has combat experience the same as your men. You will respect her on your team. Is that understood?"

"Yes, sir," Jack answered, just as a skinny, red-haired woman in dress blues walked into the briefing room.

"Claire Tobias, reporting as ordered, sir," she announced, saluting.

Jack couldn't help but notice she seemed a little too pleased with her new position on his team.

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"Colonel, what happened?" Hammond asked as he looked at Captain Ferretti being put on a stretcher.

"Base camp was hit while we were on recon, sir," Jack answered.

"Same hostiles who came here?" Hammond asked.

"That's my guess, sir. They weren't from Abydos. They came through the stargate."

"How is that possible?"

"Well, Daniel and Tobias have a theory that the stargate can go other places. They recorded a bunch of possible coordinates off the walls of a chamber Daniel found on Abydos. Daniel suggested they don't work because of planetary shift. Tobias said it was very possible, but it wasn't her field of expertise, so she wasn't sure."

"Well, then, I'd better call in someone who is an expert in that field," Hammond announced.

"You know someone right off the bat, sir?" Jack asked in surprise.

"I sure do, colonel. And, with any luck, I can have her here in a few hours." With that, Hammond turned and headed to his office to make a phone call.

Jack watched Hammond walk out and then turned to check on Ferretti in the infirmary.

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General Hammond was sitting in his office going over the medical reports of his injured men when a knock sounded on his door. "Come," he called out.

"General," Captain Samantha Carter greeted, walking into the office.

"Captain," Hammond smiled and stood up to greet the captain. "It's good to see you."

"You, too, sir," she replied, smiling warmly at the general. "So, they said you needed me to calculate planetary drift?"

"Yes. Here is all the information the team gathered while on Abydos. You are free to use whatever you need on base."

Sam took the file the general held out and opened it, skimming through the information inside. "Oh, this makes perfect sense!" she exclaimed, after reading Dr. Jackson's summary about the coordinates.

"So, you think you can get our gate to go to these other coordinates?" Hammond asked.

Sam looked up from the file and smiled. "I think so, sir. It will take me an hour or so to make the calculations and then maybe an hour to create a program and integrate it into the system, but yes, I think I can."

"Great," the general replied, smacking his hands together lightly. "If there's anything you need, just let me know, I'll get it for you."

"Thank you, sir. I'd like to get to work right away if that's okay."

"Of course, captain. You know where the control room is," the general replied, gesturing to the door that connected the briefing room.

"Thank you, sir," Sam replied one more time and turned to leave.

She walked through the briefing room and down the spiral stairs to the control room.

"Captain Carter, it's good to see you again," Sgt. Walter Herriman announced, smiling as he saw the pretty captain come down the stairs.

"Sgt., it's good to see you, too," she greeted. "Sgt. Siler," she greeted, turning to Siler and smiling.

"C-Captain Carter, we've missed you around here," Siler responded.

"Oh, not as much as I've missed this place," Sam replied, looking around at the control room she put together.

"So, have you been transferred back, ma'am," Walter asked, hope in his voice.

"I'm afraid not, I'm just here to create a program that will align our gate up with the rest of the galaxy."

Walter and Siler both looked at her with blank expressions. Yup, they both missed her!

Sam sat down at one of the computer terminals and pulled out a sheet of paper and a pencil to start writing down equations. Just then, Dr. Daniel Jackson came walking into the control room. "Hey, has anyone seen Col. O'Neill?"

"I believe he is in the infirmary checking on Captain Ferretti," Walter answered.

"No, I was just there. Hello, who are you?" Daniel asked after noticing the stranger sitting at one of the computers.

Sam stood up and smiled. "Hi, I'm Captain Samantha Carter. You must be Dr. Jackson?"

"Yes, how'd you know," he asked, enthusiastically, pushing his glasses back up his nose.

Sam smiled wider. "Lucky guess?"

"Ah," Daniel said and then scrunched his face up in confusion.

Sam suppressed a laugh and then continued. "I'm here from the Pentagon to get our gate to connect to the coordinates you brought back from Abydos."

"Ah, so you're Hammond's expert?"

Sam smiled again. "That's me."

"Well, then. I'll let you get back to work. I need to find Jack anyways. It was nice meeting you, captain."

"You, too, doctor, but please, call me Sam. You're not military, you can get away with it," she said with a smirk.

"Okay, well then, feel free to call me Daniel," he replied. "Bye, Sam."

"Bye, Daniel."

Daniel walked out of the control room and Sam shook her head while grinning before turning back to her work. He was exactly like she pictured when Catherine Langford described him to her.

A few hours later, Sam had the program up and running and informed General Hammond that the computers should spit out two or three addresses a month, depending on their distance from Earth.

General Hammond thanked her for her time and regretfully called her a flight back to DC.

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A few weeks later, Daniel was walking down the hall when he saw a familiar face step off the elevator.

"Captain Carter!" he exclaimed, excitedly.

"Dr. Jackson," she greeted, smiling widely at the exuberant man. She enjoyed Daniel's free-spirit and excitement as opposed to the stiff military men she worked with day in and day out.

"So, what brings you back?" he asked, walking in step with the captain.

"Oh, I'm just here to run some routine diagnostics and to upgrade a few systems," she answered.

Daniel scrunched his face up. "Can't the technicians do that?"

Sam turned to look at the man walking next to her. "Yes, but I created a new diagnostic program and I wanted to do it myself," she answered, a determined look on her face.

Daniel smirked at the woman. He was starting to understand her. "You miss this place, huh?"

"Yup," she replied. "I was here for two years working with Dr. Langford before she recruited you."

"Ah! Am I right to assume that you were the all-powerful astrophysicist who figured out that the stargate could create an artificial wormhole to another planet?"

Sam smiled, with her hands behind her back, looking straight ahead. "Guilty as charged," she answered. "Of course, I really wouldn't refer to myself as all-powerful."

"I didn't say it was you who made the reference. More like your adoring fans who are still working here. The technicians, the scientists. Catherine, herself, told me wonderful things about you."

"She's a great lady," Sam replied, ignoring all the praise Daniel was throwing at her. She was still shy when people started praising her on how smart she was.

"Yes, she is," Daniel replied, somewhat sadly.

They reached the control room and Sam walked in to start the download. "Well, I'll talk to you later, Sam, I have a meeting with General Hammond about an upcoming mission."

"Okay, it was nice talking to you again," Sam replied, smiling and turning towards the computers.

"You, too," Daniel replied, a little flustered, and then headed up the spiral staircase.

When the meeting was done, Daniel decided to check on the young captain and see if there was anything he could do for her.

"Hey, Sam, how's things going?" he asked, walking into the control room.

"Good. I'm almost finished," she replied, facing the computer.

Sam heard another person enter the control room but didn't turn around to see who it was. "Samantha?" the person asked in surprise.

Sam's heart fell into her stomach. NO! her mind screamed. She turned around slowly to face the man. "Jonas," she replied.

"Sammie, baby, what are you doing here? I thought you were in DC? Did you just get transferred here?"

"No, Jonas. I'm still in DC. I'm just here to update some systems," Sam replied, a little indignantly.

Jonas sized her up. "Don't lie to me, Sammie," he warned.

"Jesus, Jonas! I'm not lying! I'm only here for a few hours!" she just about yelled at the man.

Daniel stayed quiet in his little corner of the control room, wondering how the two knew each other.

"And why would they call you all the way from DC to update a highly classified system?" he asked in a venomous voice.

Sam cocked her head, raised her eyebrows and passed him a look, signaling she wasn't going to tell.

"Oh my God!" Jonas exclaimed as if a light bulb just went on in his head. "You weren't really stationed at NORAD, were you? You were working here." Jonas looked around. "I should have known, this has your name written all over it! I should have known it would be you who figured all this out."

"Actually," Sam replied, cockily. "It was Dr. Jackson who figured out how to activate the gate. I was already reassigned back to the Pentagon at the time."

Jonas glared at her. "You know what I mean. I can't believe you lied to me."

"Oh, please, Jonas! What about all the times you lied to me? I suppose those have no bearing whatsoever!"

"Don't flip this around, Sam! You lying little…."

"Uh," Daniel cut in, getting worried about the anger building up in the room. "I don't mean to get in the middle of this or anything, but I don't see how screaming at each other in the control room is helping any."

"Who the hell do you think you are?" Jonas yelled at Daniel. "You have no business putting your geeky nose in this!" Jonas laughed, dryly. "What do you think, you have a chance with the ice goddess? Let me save you some time, Jackson, you have a better chance getting some from your goa'uld wife."

Daniel's demeanor changed from that of the negotiator, to that of an angry husband who just heard a derogatory remark about his wife.

Sam saw Daniel's expression change and his body stiffen. When he started to take a step towards Jonas, Sam reached her arm out and stopped him. "He's not worth it, Daniel," she told him, keeping her hand firmly on his chest so he wouldn't try to go any further. She liked Daniel, but Jonas had been black ops for years and she knew he could beat the life out of Daniel.

Jonas laughed. "You should listen to her, Jackson. She's the air force's certified genius. Just ask her daddy. They know who your daddy is, don't they, Sammie?"

"Jonas, go to hell," Sam retorted.

"Is there a problem here?" Teal'c's baritone voice sounded loudly from behind Jonas.

Jonas turned around to face the large jaffa.

"No, Teal'c. No problem, Captain Hanson was just leaving. Isn't that right, captain?" Daniel announced, feeling confident now with Teal'c in the room to back him up.

Jonas threw one last glare towards Sam and Daniel and then turned to leave, causing Teal'c to lift one eyebrow at the strange behavior of the man.

"Thanks, Teal'c," Daniel announced. "Have you met Captain Carter, yet?"

"I have not," Teal'c replied.

"Hi, I'm Samantha Carter," Sam said, smiling at the large man and reaching out to shake his hand.

Teal'c, having already learned this Tau'ri gesture, reached out and shook the young woman's hand. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Captain Carter. I have heard you are the one who designed your iris. It is a remarkable defensive measure."

"Uh, yes, I did, and thank you, Teal'c. I've heard a lot about you, too, and am thrilled to meet such a great hero."

"You have misheard. I am not a hero," Teal'c answered, stoically.

"Oh, I believe you are. You saved our teams and many other people by going against your god. If that isn't a hero, than I don't know what is," Sam commented.

Teal'c stood up just a little more, a proud look gracing his stoic face.

Daniel grinned, wondering how this woman knew exactly what to say to stroke Teal'c's ego.

"I'm sorry about Jonas, Daniel. I wasn't aware he was here," Sam said, changing the subject and turning back to Daniel.

"Don't be. It wasn't your fault. What's the deal with you two, a lot of history there?"

Sam grimaced. "More than you know. We were engaged for a short time."

"Really?" Daniel asked in shock. "To Hanson?"

"Yeah, I know. But, he wasn't always like that. He was charming. Well, was charming, I guess so much time in black ops changed him. That's why I called it off."

Daniel looked at the woman, trying to figure her out. "I bet you're happy you're not stationed here now?"

Sam smiled a sad smile at Daniel. "I guess," she replied with a shrug.

Before long, Sam was back out of the mountain and on her way to DC. Jack caught up with Daniel coming back down from seeing Sam off. "Hey Daniel, where have you been?" he asked, exasperated.

"I was with Captain Carter," he answered, as if Jack should have known this information.

"Captain Carter? The one Hammond had here to fix our gate?" Jack asked, not really interested.

"Yeah, you haven't met her yet?"

"Nope. Don't really care to either," he answered, his hands in his pockets.

"Why not? She is a very bright woman, apparently she…."

"Exactly," Jack proclaimed, cutting Daniel off.

Daniel looked at him, bemused.

Jack saw Daniel's confused look and tossed an equally confused look back at him. "She's a scientist! You know how I feel about scientists. I have my fill with you and Tobias. I can't handle another one."

"Jack!" Daniel exclaimed in frustration.

"What?" Jack asked in a normal, calm voice, a dumbfounded look on his face.

"You don't even know her!"

"And, I'd like to keep it that way," Jack replied, not fazed by Daniel's frustration.

Daniel decided to go another way. "Teal'c likes her," he announced, nonchalantly.

This caused Jack to stop and look over at the archaeologist. "Teal'c has met her?" he questioned.

"Uh huh, just a little bit ago. He was quite smitten with her charms," Daniel said with a grin, remembering Teal'c's facial expression after Sam's compliment.

"No, I don't believe it. A charming scientist isn't possible. It's, it's an oxymoron!" Jack rebounded.

Daniel shook his head. "Jack! You are so narrow minded!" Daniel complained.

"Why thank you," Jack replied, smiling that irksome smile that drove Daniel mad.

Daniel tried not to growl in frustration as Jack turned down a different corridor and strutted away, obviously happy about getting the last word in.

After a few seconds of watching Jack strut down the corridor, Daniel smiled to himself as he thought of something. Sam was tall, blue-eyed, and blonde, not to mention very beautiful. Characteristics that Daniel knew were Jack's type. He could talk all the smack he wanted to now, but when he finally did meet Sam, Daniel knew it was going to be a sight worth seeing!

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a/n: Jack meets Sam next chapter if anyone wants me to continue. Please let me know if I should continue or just scrap this idea.


	2. Chapter 2

**Alternate Politics**

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**Chapter Two**

Lt. Claire Tobias smiled at Col. O'Neill's sarcastic comment to Daniel. He was such a handsome man, she found herself checking him out on more than one occasion. It was too bad, really, that he was her commanding officer because she would just love to….well never mind. Not really the place to discuss that. Claire looked around the commissary, 'yeah, not really the place to be having dirty thoughts about my commanding officer.'

Claire thought back to one of their first missions when they were infected by the Touched Virus. 'Man, I wish it would have been Colonel O'Neill who I jumped instead of Col. Makepeace. At least then I would know how good of a kisser he was,' she thought, unconsciously staring at Jack's lips. Unfortunately, it was Makepeace who she found in the locker room and jumped. Not that the man wasn't in top physical shape or anything, but he did restrain her and drag her to the infirmary. Tobias briefly wondered if Col. O'Neill would have been so quick to drag her to the infirmary or if he would have been willing to 'play' for awhile.

Claire was pulled from her thoughts by the klaxons going off and the "Off World Activation" sounding. Standing up with the rest of her team, Claire dumped her tray and followed her team to the control room.

"What's going on, sir?" O'Neill asked, leading the team into the control room and approaching General Hammond.

"I'm not sure, colonel. We just received SG-9's IDC but no one came through. Now we can't reach them," Hammond responded, looking at the stargate with concern.

Jack looked out the control room window to the stargate and then back to Hammond. "Permission to take my team to investigate, sir?"

"Granted, colonel. Gear up and be ready to head out in an hour. I want to know what the hell is going on."

Jack turned around to face his team. They had become quite close these last few months. Daniel was like an annoying little brother, Teal'c, well, Teal'c was like a pet, completely loyal and trustworthy, but still needing to be trained in normal, everyday earth things. And, Tobias, she was like a child. She was so young. Jack often wondered how a lieutenant with only an engineering degree ended up on the premiere team. He would have thought they wouldn't let anyone less than a captain on such an important team, at least someone with a little more field experience than Tobias. But, then again, they let _Daniel_ on the team, and he was anything but military! Nevertheless, with Tobias being so young, Jack often felt like a dad to her, needing to keep a closer eye on her than what he normally would to his other men. He briefly wondered if she saw him as a father-figure, but quickly let the thought fade before reminding him of how old he was.

"Alright kids!" Jack exclaimed, clapping his hands together. "You heard the man, let's get ready," he told his team, ushering them out of the control room.

An hour later SG-1 was stepping through the gate to a wooded landscape. Tobias and Daniel immediately started applying sunblock. "Doesn't look like a radioactive planet," Jack commented sourly as he looked around at all the trees.

"Don't let the trees fool you, sir. From the first report we received from SG-9, the trees provide very minimal shade from the sun's rays. Apparently, most of the planet only comes out at night," Claire informed him while she rubbed sunblock on her face and arms.

"Peachy," Jack grumbled, scanning the area and motioning for his team to start off.

They only got a few feet from the stargate when Claire felt someone behind her grab her around the neck and press a gun to her head.

The noise was immediately heard by Jack and the rest of the team, and they swung around, guns aimed, at the man holding the lieutenant hostage.

A second later, Jack recognized the man and lowered his gun. "Connors! What the hell is going on here?" he yelled at the dark-skinned lieutenant.

Lt. Connors, finally noticing who the team was, let go of Claire and visibly relaxed. He told the tale of how Captain Hanson had gone crazy and convinced the inhabitants of the planet that he was their god.

Deciding to wait out the night before trying to infiltrate Hanson's domain, the group set up camp. Teal'c set up a security perimeter while Claire and Daniel pulled out MRE's, and Jack continued to question Connors on the last few days events.

It was hours later when the natives breached their perimeter. Lights and sirens went off and all of SG-1 and Lt. Connors jumped, grabbing their guns, to defend themselves.

With the lights and sirens, it was hard to see the natives and everything happened very quickly. As soon as the natives retreated, Jack quickly did a head-count and discovered everyone but Tobias was accounted for.

"Shit!" Jack grumbled after discovering his young lieutenant had been taken. "Pack it up, guys, we're going after her," he ordered, mad at himself for losing one of his subordinates.

Before long, daylight broke and the team came upon the mines the natives lived in. Jack pulled out his scope, scanning the area for any signs of his lieutenant. Not seeing her anywhere, Jack turned to look for a better vantage point and came face-to-face with an M-15.

"Col. O'Neill, so nice to see you," came the voice of one of the airmen under Hanson's command.

"Lieutenant, drop that gun and surrender and I will let the general know you were only following the orders of your commanding officer," Jack tried.

The man laughed, dryly. "I am under the orders from my god, I will not disobey his orders."

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Jack spat.

The airman responded by jabbing the M-15 into Jack's head.

The former lieutenant and several natives led the rest of SG-1 and Connors down the slope and towards Hanson's dwelling.

Meanwhile, inside Hanson's cave dwelling, Lt. Claire Tobias was looking over an alien device, trying to figure out how to make it work.

Unfortunately, the device was nothing like she'd ever seen before and she had no idea how to fix it. She switched different wires and crystals, but was having no luck

"I'm sorry, but I just don't know…I..I've never seen this kind of technology before.." Claire was stumbling over her words to Hanson.

"Bullshit, lieutenant!" Hanson screamed at her. "You're an engineer! You are on the premiere team! There must be something special about you to get that position."

Claire lowered her head, letting her body fill with guilt, not for the first time, for being on SG-1. She had wanted the position so bad. She fought so hard for it, pulling out all the stops, but it was times like this where she felt like she was way out of her league.

"This is goa'uld technology! I know you've been studying this technology, lieutenant!" Hanson barked, his fists clasped in anger.

"This is nothing like the staff weapons and other devices we've brought back through the gate. I've never seen anything this complex. I'm an engineer, not a genius! I need to know how things work before I can fix them, not the other way around," Claire tried to explain to the ferocious man.

Just then, the rest of SG-1 were shoved into Hanson's dwelling. "Ah, Colonel O'Neill," Hanson said in a voice that was a complete contradiction to his behavior towards Tobias. "You've arrived just in time to see my men escort Lt. Tobias here back to the stargate."

Tobias, Jack, and everyone else in the room looked at Hanson confused and shocked.

"You're letting her go, just like that?" Jack asked, unbelievingly.

"Of course, colonel. I'm not an evil god," Hanson replied, flipping his arm up in the air as if trying to be dramatic. "My men will take the young lieutenant here back to the stargate and allow her to go home with a message."

"A message?" Jack prompted.

"A message demanding that Captain Samantha Carter from the Pentagon be sent here, alone."

"Oh, there's not a chance in hell," Jack cut Hanson off.

"She has twenty-four hours to walk through the gate before I start killing hostages. Starting with Colonel O'Neill," Hanson finished, looking pointedly at O'Neill in defiance.

"Hanson, you know we don't negotiate with terrorists. There's no way they're going to let anyone walk through that gate," Jack tried to explain to the crazed man.

Hanson let an evil smirk overtake his face. "You'd be surprised, colonel. You see, my Sammie has a heart of gold and more than one general wrapped around her little fingers. If anyone can convince them to let her come through, it will be herself."

"What do you need Carter for?" Jack questioned, sure the man had done lost his mind.

"To be my goddess, of course," Hanson replied, evil smirk still on his face as he turned to his men to direct them in his scheme.

Tobias turned to get Jack's silent command on what she should do. He shook his head and then told her, "go with them, Claire, get outta here."

Lt. Tobias nodded her head lightly and started walking towards the door before the man behind her pushed her.

Once the men led Tobias out of the cave, Jack turned to Daniel and Teal'c, speaking low enough so Jonas couldn't hear him. "What could he want Captain Carter for? He's got to be up to something, we need to figure it out if we're going to get out of here alive."

"I don't know, Jack, I think it's personal," Daniel replied.

"What do you mean, personal?" Jack asked, indignantly, obviously not believing the archaeologist's conclusion.

"Captain Carter and Hanson were engaged. She broke it off. I don't think he took it well."

"You're telling me he set this whole thing up to get Captain Carter to come to another planet so he can get his revenge?"

"I don't know what he's planning, but I think getting Sam here is his way of finally getting control of her."

"Well, it's never going to happen," Jack retorted.

Daniel looked over at Jack in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"There's no way Hammond's gonna allow a green captain to come here alone."

"Green captain?" Daniel asked, impetuously

"Yes, Daniel, green, as in never been through the stargate before," Jack snapped back, getting irritated.

"Ah," Daniel responded, comprehending the man's lingo.

Teal'c watched the exchange between the two men in silence.

Just like he said, Hanson's men gave Tobias her GDO and allowed her to dial the gate and go home. As soon as she walked through the gate, General Hammond came rushing through the blast doors. "Lieutenant, where is the rest of your team?" he asked in concern.

"Sir, Hanson's gone mad!" she cried, now that she was finally in friendly territory, she let her walls down. "He's holding Lt. Connors and the rest of SG-1 hostage and demanding that you send through Captain Carter! If she's not through the gate in twenty-four hours he is going to kill Col. O'Neill and then another hostage every hour after that."

Hammond closed his eyes and sighed, worry spreading across his face.

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"Sir, I know him! I can get to him!" Sam argued with General Hammond in the briefing room.

"Captain, I cannot, in any right sense, send you through that stargate into an obvious trap," the general argued back

"But, doesn't knowing it's a trap, give me an advantage, sir?" Sam tried to argue back.

General Hammond shook his head, not believing this level-headed young lady just tried to pull a line he would have expected to hear from Colonel O'Neill.

"Sir, if your men are really being held like Lt. Tobias claimed, then they aren't going to have any opportunity to escape. Jonas was my fiancé, sir. I highly doubt he wants me to travel half-way across the galaxy just to kill me. His men will more than likely be watching the gate, but if you let me through, I can be a decoy to give SG-3 a couple seconds once they step through the gate."

"Captain, your plan is filled with flaws.." the general started.

"But, it's a plan, sir, and with all due respect to you and your men, none of you have come up with anything better."

Makepeace sighed heavily from his seat at the briefing table. "She has a point, sir. Without her, we have no chance at taking them at the gate.

Hammond looked around the table at Captain Carter and SG-3, doubt about this rescue mission swimming around in his head. He let out a deep sigh. "We'll send through the malp, if it looks like we can pull it off, you'll all go through, with Captain Carter a few seconds ahead. Understood?"

"Yes, sir," rang out around the table.

One Captain Samantha Carter tried not to smile under the dire circumstances, but she was _finally_ getting to go through the stargate.

Twenty hours after Lt. Tobias burst through the stargate, the SGC dialed up the planet and sent through the malp. The screen showed a raggedy-looking airmen surrounded by what must be the native people of the planet. "Have you agreed to our god's demands?" the man spoke into the com. He obviously knew how to work all the equipment, but spoke as though he did not know the men on the other end.

"Captain Carter is preparing to step through the gate now. I want my men returned to me, including Captain Carter within three hours. If my men are not returned, we are prepared to take aggressive action."

"No need, general, your men will be returned to you," the former airmen replied, acknowledging the general for the first time.

Sam looked at the general who nodded at her. "Good luck, Captain," he told her before she turned and headed down to the stargate, the members of SG-3 right behind her.

She swallowed the lump in her throat and walked up the metal ramp. Under any other circumstances, she might have stopped and admired the fluxuations in the event horizon, but now was not the time for her mind to wander. She stepped through the gate and for a split second, felt as though her body took off without her before she emerged on the other side into a forest.

Feeling disoriented, a feeling she was not expecting, Sam tried to recompose herself and follow through with her mission. She scoped out the immediate vicinity, taking in the natives and the lieutenant holding a gun.

"You must be Captain Carter," the man acknowledged, walking towards her with his gun aimed at her chest.

Sam remembered SG-3 and started walking towards the man to get a little distance between them and the stargate. "I suppose you are going to take me to Jonas," she tried to start a conversation to distract the men.

"Not so fast, captain," the man announced, raising his gun slightly. "Stop right there so we can search you."

"Search me?" Sam questioned, acting confused and taking another step towards the man.

He cocked his gun, sending a message that she better stop advancing on him.

Figuring this was as far away from the gate as she was going to get him, she stopped and raised her hands. "Take it easy, lieutenant, I'm not going to do anything."

Just then, SG-3 came through the stargate and started firing on the native men. Sam knew she was in trouble. She was way too close to the bad lieutenant and knew she didn't have enough time to get away. The lieutenant reached out and grabbed Sam, pulling her to him and pressing his gun to her forehead. She kicked and squirmed, but it was no use, he had her good.

"Stop or I'll shoot her!" the lieutenant screamed.

Makepeace stopped firing and looked towards the scream. Seeing the captain being held with a gun to her head, he knew he couldn't let her get shot. "Great plan you had there, captain," he shot at her and signaled for his men to surrender.

The natives retrieved the men's weapons and led them back to the mines.

The last thing Jack was expecting was a pretty blonde and all of SG-3 to come walking into Hanson's cave.

Hanson laughed dryly as he took in the slumped shoulders of the marines. "Did you really think you could overpower me?" he laughed at the men as they were hit in the back of their legs with staffs and knocked to the ground.

Hanson turned his attention to Sam. "Sammie! Sweetheart, I knew you'd get them to let you through. Search her!" he snarled at his men.

"We already did, sir," came the reply from the airman.

"You already did?" Hanson asked, crinkling his forehead. "Tell me, what did you remove from her?"

"She had a standard-issue M-15 and a knife, sir."

Hanson laughed and looked at Sam. "Sammie, Sammie, Sammie," he sighed and then looked over at the lieutenant. "Her left ankle!" he barked.

The airman walked to Sam and knelt down to lift up her pants. Sure enough, attached to her left ankle was a large dagger. The airman removed it and set it on the table.

Hanson laughed. "Her left arm," he ordered next.

The airman pulled out another blade taped just above her elbow. He removed it and set it on the table with the other one.

"Her right thigh," he barked again.

The airman looked bemused, but then advanced on Sam.

"I don't think so," she announced, putting up her hands and backing away from the man.

"Remove it or I will have it removed!" Hanson told her.

Sam looked at Hanson, trying to figure out how far she would be able to push him. Sighing, she lifted her leg up on the table and hiked up her pants in order to reach the small pistol she had attached to her inside thigh.

Jack looked over at Daniel, raising his eyebrows, obviously impressed with the captain's hideouts.

"What do you want from me, Jonas?" Sam finally asked, getting irritated with his cockiness.

"To be my goddess," he replied just like he had earlier.

Sam gave him a look and he continued, gesturing for her to follow him to the other side of the cave. "This device is said to create a force shield that blocks out the sun's harmful rays. Unfortunately, these people have no idea how to activate it. It seems to be broken, your underling had no idea what to do with it."

"You brought me all the way here to fix a machine?" Sam asked, exasperated.

"Well, it is what you do, isn't it?"

"And if I don't?"

"Then we will watch as every last person on this planet dies, and then I will kill us both."

Sam looked at him, contemplating his threats in her head. "If I fix it, you have to let the rest of them go. All of them."

"Sammie, I am not a vengeful god. Of course they will be free to go."

Sam nodded her head. "Okay," she accepted and bent down to investigate the alien device.

Meanwhile, Jack was a little irritated with Daniel. "Daniel, why didn't you tell me?"

"Tell you what, Jack?" Daniel asked, smugly. The dumbfounded look Jack had made when he saw Sam and realized who she was did not go unnoticed by the observant archaeologist.

"Don't play coy, Daniel. Why didn't you tell me she looked like that?"

"Daniel crinkled his eyebrows. "Looked like what?"

Jack groaned at Daniel. "Hot, Daniel," he hissed. "Why didn't you tell me Captain Carter was hot?"

"Hot?" Daniel continued to play, enjoying this chance to frustrate Jack. "I guess I really didn't notice, her being a scientist and all."

Jack glared at the young linguist. Not knowing what to say to him without yelling. His anger building, he turned to Makepeace a short distance away. "Nice rescue, Makepeace!" he snapped. "What's with agreeing to his demands?"

Makepeace sighed. "It was her idea! We didn't see any other way of getting through the gate."

"Then you shouldn't have come!" Jack snapped back, his voice raising and arousing the attention of Jonas and Sam by the alien device.

Jonas sneered and then turned back to watch Sam.

Before long, Sam put the panel back on the device and flipped the switch. An orange beam shot up a few feet in the air. Sam grinned in pride at fixing the alien device.

Hanson was ecstatic. He knew she could fix it. Thrilled that Sam was able to fix the machine, he let his guard down for only a moment.

The moment was all Sam needed, and reaching in her shirt, she pulled out the knife she had hidden in her bra and lunged at Jonas.

Jonas, thinking he was clever enough to know all Sam's hiding places, was not expecting her to still have a knife. Being caught completely off-guard, Sam was able to get the upper hand and jab the knife into his body several times.

Bloodied and in pain, Jonas was easy to defeat, and she quickly tied him up and freed the others. Teal'c and SG-3 left the cave to surprise and overpower the rest of Jonas' men and Daniel and Jack secured the room while Sam applied first-aid to the bound Hanson.

"Good job, captain," Jack said softly, bending down to her level as she bandaged Jonas' arm.

Sam looked up at the colonel. "Thank you, sir," she replied, noticing for the first time, how handsome the colonel was. His gaze with those deep, dark eyes were warming her heart rapidly.

In a few hours, with Teal'c's help, Sam activated the second device and created the force shield to block out the sun's deadly rays. A clean-up crew was sent in to escort Hanson and his lieutenant back through the gate to a holding cell to await their court-martial and the natives were taught how to operate the device.

With one last look around, Sam walked up the stone steps and back through the stargate to earth.

**------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

The briefing room was full with SG-1, SG-3, Lieutenant Connors, and Captain Carter. Each team gave their description of events leading up to and after the capture of Jonas Hanson.

Jack was sitting right across from Sam, unconsciously staring at her through most of the meeting. She had such beautiful eyes, he realized. He couldn't help but smile every time she started explaining something and they lit up.

The briefing was coming to a close when Daniel turned his attention to Sam. "So, Sam, your first trip through the gate exciting enough for you?"

Sam smiled at Daniel with a twinkle in her eye. "Ah, not too much out of the ordinary. Go on a mission, save everyone's collective asses and come home. It's what women do best," she replied, grinning widely.

Jack smiled at her and then turned to Hammond. "General, she's smart as a whip, one hell of a soldier, and a humor to boot, can we keep her?"

Sam grinned bigger and lowered her head in embarrassment.

General Hammond let out a small laugh at his colonel's plea. Then, with a sad voice, replied, "I'm afraid not, colonel. Captain Carter is due back at the Pentagon first thing in the morning."

"Too bad," Jack said, turning his attention to the flushed captain. 'Too bad, indeed,' he thought to himself as he continued to watch the pretty captain across the table.

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a/n: I'm not sure if this is any good or not. I'm not used to changing actual episodes around. It will soon be revealed how Tobias got on SG-1 instead of Sam. I know how it is being brought up, but I'm not sure how many chapters there are until then. Maybe one or two, I don't know.Please let me know how you felt about this chapter, it will help. Thanks!


	3. Chapter 3

**Alternate Politics**

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a/n: I am glad that so many of you liked kick-ass Carter. Personally, I like her, too. There were a couple reviewers who didn't like her and their remarks got me thinking about what people who didn't know Carter very well or work with her daily might think of her. And thus sprung this chapter in my head. This chapter is meant to be humorous and if anyone takes it the wrong way and gets offended, I apologize.

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**Chapter Three**

Jack O'Neill had been waiting for Teal'c for over half an hour now in the SGC gym. They had agreed to meet for a little sparring at 1500 and it was currently 1535. He had already warmed up, punched the punching bag mercilessly and gave pointers to Lt. Mathers before he got in the ring with his CO, Major Roberts of SG-6.

He had finally decided to give up waiting and go in search of the large jaffa when said jaffa came walking into the gym.

"Teal'c! It's about time!" Jack exclaimed.

Teal'c bowed his head. "I apologize for my tardiness, O'Neill. I was assisting Captain Carter with a device SG-5 procured on P5X-989."

"What? Captain Carter's here?" Jack asked in surprise.

"Indeed, O'Neill. She arrived this morning to install an updated GDO system."

Jack scrunched his eyebrows closer in a look of confusion. "Then what was she doing with you and a doohickey from P5X-whatever?"

"As I stated, Captain Carter arrived this morning with the upgraded GDO system. She completed the installation shortly before lunch. I encountered Captain Carter in the commissary and offered my assistance in translating the writings on the device."

"Ah!…..So, is she still here?" Jack asked, meekly. He had admitted, only to himself of course, that he had developed a small 'thing' for the young captain. She was beautiful, smart, a kick-ass soldier. She was the total package. At least as far as Jack was concerned.

After the debriefing had concluded a few months back where they defeated Hanson, Captain Carter had accompanied SG-3 and SG-1, minus Tobias who had mumbled something about having work to do, to the commissary for dinner. Jack found himself competing with Makepeace for the captain's attention. They had, in hindsight, childishly cracked jokes and put each other down vying for the pretty woman's attention. Sam, probably only in politeness, laughed at their jokes, smiling prettily, and seemed to enjoy the dinner with the two teams. When they had finished eating, Makepeace had offered to retrieve a slice of cake for Captain Carter and Jack took the advantage to offer the captain a ride to Peterson to her awaiting flight. He had been thrilled when she accepted.

They had chatted the whole way to the base, and even now, months later, Jack couldn't get the woman out of his mind. He had been quite humiliated when he was on Argos, resembling an old man with little hair, liver spots, and wrinkles on every inch of his body, and Sam Carter had returned through the gate with Tobias. He was sure he had turned bright red in discovering the captain had been given the complete details of how he had acquired the 'virus' from Kynthia. The only thing he could think of was that all the time he had spent trying to impress this woman before just went down the drain with her seeing him as an old man. Unfortunately, that was the last time he had seen her. She had already been called back to the Pentagon by the time he had turned back to his rightful age. Knowing she was on base, he was determined for her to see him as the young, handsome, forty-year old man that he was.

"Well, Teal'c, as much as I would love to stay down here and spar with you, I'm afraid I have to get back to work now. But, Mathers over there would love to go a few rounds with you."

Teal'c bowed his head and turned his attention to the rather small-looking lieutenant who had turned white as a sheet following O'Neill's words.

Jack stuck his hands in his pockets and whistled down the corridors as he tried to think where the captain might be. Figuring if she was messing around with a device, she was probably still in the labs, so he decided to check there first.

Coming up empty in the labs, Jack continued his search around base, not finding her anywhere. When he discovered it was almost 1700 hours, Jack realized the woman had probably already left base and decided he would do the same.

Entering the locker room, he tried to hide his disappointment at discovering all of SG-3 there.

"O'Neill," Makepeace greeted at seeing the air force colonel enter the locker room.

"Makepeace," Jack returned, opening his locker.

"So, colonel, did you hear Captain Carter has a date?" one of Makepeace's men asked.

Jack's head spun around to see the marine who had spoken. "With who?" he asked, a little more emotion in his voice than there should have been.

"Don't know," Makepeace put in. "I asked her if she wanted to join us for drinks tonight and she said she already had plans with someone else."

Jack felt his heart fall. He should have known someone else would get to her first. Chances were, she probably had admirers everywhere she went. Jack, his day completely ruined, decided he would round up Daniel, Teal'c, and maybe Tobias to join him for dinner and drinks at O'Malley's in town.

By 1900 hours, all of SG-1 had entered O'Malley's and sat at a table. O'Neill groaned as he saw who was sitting at the table next to them. None other than SG-3. As far as marines go, Jack found himself able to tolerate Makepeace and the rest of his team, but only for a limited amount of time. Seeing them at work and now here was not making Jack a happy camper.

**------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

Sam Carter had left the SGC shortly before 1700 hours and headed to the home of General Hammond. The last time she was in town, General Hammond had invited her to dinner so she could catch up with Jenny, George's daughter. Sam and Jenny were the same age and had been close friends when their dad's were stationed at the same air base when they were children. When Mrs. Hammond had died and Jenny and her husband divorced, Jenny thought it would be best for everyone for her and her daughters to move in with her dad. George was thrilled to have his daughter and granddaughters living with him.

Unfortunately, shortly after Sam had arrived at the general's house last time, she was informed there was a crisis at the SGC and she was asked to go there and see if she could be of assistance. She had ended up spending quite a bit of time trying to figure out how to reverse the nanites in Col. O'Neill's blood and had never made it to dinner with the Hammond's.

So, this time, she and Jenny had agreed to let George watch Kayla and Tessa and the two old friends were going to go out to dinner and catch up. Jenny had mentioned a popular steakhouse in town called O'Malley's, so once Sam picked up Jenny, they headed to the restaurant.

Sam was quite surprised that the restaurant was so packed on a Wednesday evening. The waitress directed them to one of the last few tables left in the restaurant. It was a table for two in a more private section of O'Malley's. Both women ordered a beer before looking over the menus.

Unknown to the women, they had been watched intensely upon entering the restaurant. All of SG-3 and SG-1 saw Captain Carter enter the restaurant, walking very close to a _woman_.

"Captain Carter's date is a woman?" Jack asked in shock, looking over at Makepeace.

Makepeace shrugged. "I can't believe it! Why is it always the hot ones who turn on us?"

"What are you talking about?" Daniel cut in.

"Don't you see, Jackson?" Makepeace answered. "Captain Carter is on a date with a woman!"

"So?" Daniel wasn't getting it.

"So?" one of the other marines picked up. "She is with a woman, as in she prefers women over men."

"What? You guys are nuts! Sam's not like that!" Daniel exclaimed, shocked that they thought Sam was that way.

"It kind of makes sense, Daniel," Jack cut in, sadly. "She is all into that ultra feminist crap and she can kick ass."

Tobias laughed. "You guys really think Captain Carter is gay?"

"She was engaged," Daniel added, his voice squeaking slightly. "To a man!"

"But, she broke it off. Perhaps when she decided to come out of the closet," Makepeace put in.

"I do not understand," Teal'c announced. "What does Captain Carter having dinner with a woman have to do with being happy and of what reason would she have for being in a closet?"

Everyone stared at Teal'c, unsure of how to explain themselves.

"Teal'c," Daniel started to explain, he was the linguist after all. "_They _think because Sam came here with a woman that she prefers women….sexually over men."

For a brief moment Teal'c was unable to mask the look of confusion on his stoic face. Quickly recovering, he turned to O'Neill and SG-3. "Are all Tauri men incapable of pleasing their women?"

Jack immediately spit the mouthful of beer out of his mouth, dousing poor Tobias on the other side of the table. Daniel coughed uncontrollably and the marines varied from red faces to pale faces in response to Teal'c's question.

"Um, it's a little more complicated than that, Teal'c. Some women just prefer to be with another woman as opposed to a man. Some people think it might have to do with a hormone imbalance, no one really knows for sure if it is biological or completely one's choice," Daniel explained.

Teal'c tilted his head, his chin jutting out slightly more than normal. "These women have yet to be satisfied by their men. We do not have this problem on Chulak," he announced, looking at the other men, disappointedly.

"Maybe I should move to Chulak," Tobias put in, smiling at Teal'c and laughing at the dumbstruck men who had yet to recover from Teal'c's revelation.

Jack's day was getting worse by the minute. How could she be gay? Sure, she was in the military. Sure, she had that whole Rambo-ish thing going for her. But, gay? He was attracted to a gay woman? This could not be happening!

The marines and Daniel continued to debate the aspects of Carter being a lesbian, while Jack just played with the label on his beer. He was quickly slipping into a state of depression. Carter couldn't be gay. She couldn't be because Jack wanted her. He hadn't felt like this about a woman since Sara. Sure, he had noticed a beautiful woman when one came by, but when he fell in love with Sara, he had stopped thinking sexually of other women. He looked, he wasn't going to deny that, but it wasn't the same as it was before he got married. Sam Carter was the first woman he found himself attracted to since his divorce, and although a little sad when he realized he was moving on from his wife, he was excited over the thought of getting to know the beautiful captain.

Sam Carter was everything his ex-wife was not. Sara was the complete opposite of military. It was what attracted him to her in the first place. He was looking for someone who could take him away from his military life, even if just for a few hours or so a day. Sara, in all her feminine ways, was that woman. Although strong-willed, Sara was anything but physically strong. She played the damsel in distress well and Jack had enjoyed being her knight in shining armor. Even if that just meant moving the couch from one side of the room to the other because she didn't like feeling a draft when she watched television. She preferred sewing and art over sports and physical activity and Jack loved that about her.

However, as much as he loved what Sara represented, he couldn't change who he was, and he soon realized that even if Charlie had not died, their differences would have eventually drove them apart. The first time he had met Sam he knew she was more his match. She had all the physical characteristics he was attracted to. She was also incredibly smart, seemed to have the same type of humor he did, and she was military through and through. He had been attracted to her immediately.

But, now, the thought of her not being attracted to him in the least was enough to make him sick to his stomach. He had all these great plans of sweeping her off her feet. Enticing her with his quick wit and charming demeanor. But, if she wasn't into men, then he was definitely way too masculine for her.

Claire Tobias noticed her CO's attitude change when the subject of Captain Carter's sexuality came up. She wasn't blind, she could tell that the colonel liked the captain. She had felt so useless and unappreciated in the debriefing with her CO complimenting and pleading with the general to allow Captain Carter to stay at the SGC those few months back. She had to fight hard to keep her emotions back. It wasn't her fault that she couldn't fix that stupid device! Maybe she didn't have the same amount of experience the captain had, but she had made her case and at least someone had agreed with her because it was she who got the spot on SG-1, not Captain Carter. After the debriefing was over, she had gone to her quarters and cried. She figured, with Captain Carter around, no one would even miss her. And, apparently they hadn't because no one had ever asked her why she didn't join them. Dr. Jackson had already become closer to the captain than he had to her. Even Teal'c had taken a shining to the glorious Captain Carter. As much as Tobias found the possibility of Captain Carter being gay amusing, as a woman, she did not get that vibe from her and really doubted the marines' assumption.

Teal'c, having enough of listening to the marines' incessant speculations, stood up and headed over to the table Captain Carter and her 'date' were sitting.

"Captain Carter, it is a pleasure to see you once again," Teal'c greeted, walking up and standing in front of the small table.

"Teal'c!" Sam said in surprise, swallowing her food and using her napkin to wipe any food from around her mouth. "It's great to see you, too. Are you here alone?" she asked, wondering if the rest of his team were with him.

"I am not. I accompanied Colonel O'Neill, Daniel Jackson, and Lieutenant Tobias to this location. We are currently assembled on the other side of this establishment, as well as the members of SG-3."

"Oh," Sam replied, processing everything Teal'c had just told her. "Um, have you met General Hammond's daughter, Jenny?" Sam asked, still trying to recover and discreetly locate the other members of Teal'c's team. Specifically, a certain colonel she hadn't seen yet this trip to Colorado.

"I have not," Teal'c announced, bowing his head towards the other woman. "Is this your woman-companion, Captain Carter?"

Sam crinkled her eyebrows at Teal'c's question, unsure of what he was asking. "Uh, Jenny and I are friends. We grew up together. She just moved in with her dad and we decided to catch up with each other. You had friends from childhood you ran into as an adult, didn't you, Teal'c?" she asked, really not sure whether he did or not.

"It has been quite some time since I have been a child, Captain Carter, but indeed I have encountered those I knew as a youth through the years. I am pleased that you have rediscovered a long-ago friendship and am equally pleased to know your men have not failed to satisfy you."

Jenny choked on her beer, finding herself laughing and choking at the same time.

"Well, I didn't say that," Sam joked, laughing along with Jenny.

Teal'c tilted his head to the side and once again displayed confusion on his face.

"I'm sorry, Teal'c. I was just joking. I do enjoy my men very much, thank you," she said, her face red with a laugh wanting to come out again.

"Very well, Captain Carter. It would please me greatly if you would compete against me in the Tauri game of shooting the colored balls into the holes on the velvet-covered table."

"Pool? You want to play a game of pool with me?"

"Indeed."

"Sure, Teal'c," Sam replied, drinking the rest of her beer and standing up.

"I'll go take care of the bill and meet you two at the tables," Jenny said, standing up after Sam.

"Great," Sam said, reaching in her purse and pulling out her half of the bill and tip and handing them over to her friend.

Teal'c rested his arm on Sam's shoulder and the two headed over to the billiards section.

Jack and all of SG-3 dropped their jaws when they saw Teal'c and Captain Carter walk over to the pool tables and begin racking balls.

"I didn't know Teal'c was that smooth," Makepeace commented, having noticed Teal'c's hand on Sam's shoulder.

"Oh, please, Teal'c is an ol' Casanova when it comes to romancing the women," Jack bragged, grinning at the marines and standing up to join his good old jaffa buddy across the room. He tossed a few bills down on the table and then arching his eyebrows, looked at Daniel and Claire. "You kids coming?" he asked before turning and heading over to Teal'c.

The other two members of SG-1 repeated Jack's actions and followed him over to the pool tables. Carter was taking her shot when Jack reached them, Daniel and Claire a few steps behind.

"I am pleased to inform you that you were mistaken, O'Neill," Teal'c began. Gaining the attention of Sam at the table and Jenny who had arrived right after Jack. "Captain Carter has indeed been pleased by her men."

Jack's face turned red in embarrassment. He sneaked a peek at Sam and noticed her standing on the other side of the table, leaning against her pool stick with a grin on her face.

"Exactly what were you saying to Teal'c about me, colonel?" she asked, walking towards Jack with a curious grin still on her face.

Jack was sporting the infamous, deer-caught-in-the-headlights look and found himself speechless in answering her question.

Sam found his look quite endearing and continued to approach the stone-still colonel.

"Colonel? Is there a reason Teal'c would think that I'm not being satisfied by men?"

Jack gulped, the first movement he made besides blinking.

Daniel, finding the situation incredibly hilarious, decided to add to Jack's suffering by enlightening the lively captain. "SG-3 made a comment that you might be gay because you showed up here on a date with another woman," he announced.

Sam turned to Daniel and then looked past him at the marines, whose eyes were all glued to the scene in the billiards section. "You guys thought I was gay?" she asked in shock.

"Well, I didn't, but the rest of them were harder to convince," Daniel told her.

Sam turned her eyes back to Jack. "You thought I was gay, colonel?" she asked him, a hurt look appearing on her face for a quick second.

"I…I wasn't sure. I…didn't want to believe it," he stuttered out.

Sam bit her bottom lip, not sure how to respond. "I see," she finally announced, nodding her head in thought and turning around to continue her game with Teal'c.

Jack was confused by her abrupt end to the conversation, and just stood there, frozen in his spot, having a hard time recovering.

Eventually, the marines decided it was safe and joined the rest of them at the pool tables. Jack had found a seat and continued to quietly watch the attractive blonde play pool. Everyone had felt like idiots when Jenny told them all that she was General Hammond's daughter and that she and Sam had gone to school together years before. This did not surprise Claire as she was aware of the close relationship between Captain Carter and General Hammond.

By the end of the night, everyone, minus Teal'c, was feeling the effects of the alcohol. Jack had continued to sit in his seat, only talking when spoken to while everyone else laughed and conversed in good spirits.

The marines left first with Tobias and Daniel right behind them. Jack was responsible for Teal'c and had to take him back to the base. Teal'c and Sam were finishing up their last game while Jack was still sitting in his seat. Jenny, seeing the game was almost over, excused herself to use the bathroom before heading home.

Sam sunk the black ball and won the game, again. Teal'c bowed his head to Sam, allowing a small smile to play on his lips and then put his hand out to accept Sam's pool stick. Sam handed him the stick and he turned to put them back on their racks.

Sam, by now quite tipsy, strutted over to Jack with a drunken smile on her face. Reaching him, she settled one of her hands on his leg, mainly for balance, and looked him in the eyes. "Are you really worried about me being satisfied, colonel?" she asked, the drunken smile still on her face.

Jack was, once again, speechless and in shock by the captain's question. Seeing his opening, finally, Jack quickly recovered. "If you are, I'm sure I can help," he huskily answered, a grin growing on his face.

Sam's smile widened and she rested her other hand on Jack's other leg. "We'll see about that, colonel," she said, smiling with a twinkle in her eye and then turned and walked away.

Jenny appeared a minute later and confiscated Sam's keys. She had hardly drank and was quite sober compared to the pretty captain. Assuring Teal'c and Colonel O'Neill that Sam would sleep in the spare bedroom at her house, she and Sam left the restaurant, Jack and Teal'c following behind.

Jack and Teal'c watched the government-issued car pull out of the parking lot and then turned to climb in Jack's truck. Just as Teal'c opened the passenger-side door, he stopped and looked over at Jack on the other side. "You are welcome, O'Neill," he announced and then entered Jack's truck.

Jack stood there for a moment, a bemused look on his face until he understood the jaffa's words. "Thanks, Teal'c. Thanks a lot," he said, the grin reappearing on his face before he hopped in his truck.

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	4. Chapter 4

Alternate Politics

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a/n: I was persuaded into writing this chapter by my new friend, Katie, who insists that I say: I dedicate this update and chapter to my favorite girl in Alabama, Katie! She rocks my world. (hangs head in shame) The things I can be talked into doing!

Unfortunately, it isn't as long as it was originally supposed to be because I have been trying to write it and watch the Superbowl at the same time. (It isn't working out quite well!) So, after trying to balance the two for the last two hours, I'm giving up and posting what I've got. I'll post another chapter sometime this week to make up for this short one.

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**Chapter Four**

Jack, of course, was last to make it to the briefing room. Walking in, he noticed Tobias, Teal'c, and Daniel already sitting at the table, and General Hammond still in his office, probably waiting on Jack to finally arrive. "Anyone know what this briefing's about?" Jack asked, taking his customary seat at the table.

"Uh, no, I have no idea," Daniel answered, lifting his head from the book he had brought with him.

Jack looked over at Tobias, expecting her to tell him that the meeting had something to do with some engineering thingamabob she was working on.

"I don't have a clue, sir," she announced before he said a word.

Jack made a face and turned his attention to Teal'c, but before he could ask the silent jaffa, Hammond opened his office door and made his way to the briefing table.

Jack and Claire both started to stand up before Hammond motioned for them to remain seated. "At ease," he said, taking his seat at the front of the table. "I called this meeting to inform all of you that Col. Tom Smith from Area 51 is currently assembling a team to go through the gate to Hanka and set up an observatory."

"Sir?" Jack asked, wanting more information.

"According to data Captain Carter has been studying, there is a black hole in the vicinity of Hanka. In two months time, an eclipse is going to take place which, Captain Carter believes, will allow us to see the black hole. The Pentagon believes the information we can gain from such an occasion warrants the cost of this observatory."

"Will Captain Carter be a part of the team?" Daniel asked.

"In a way, yes. Captain Carter will be on base helping the team get the parts through the gate to Hanka. Because of her status here and at Area 51, she will be acting as the diplomat between us and Col. Smith's team. However, her work load is keeping her on earth until the day before the eclipse when she will accompany SG-1 through the gate to witness the eclipse."

"SG-1, sir?" Jack asked with a huge smile on his face.

"Yes, colonel. SG-7 will be accompanying Smith's team through, but I figured SG-1 could use a small assignment that isn't life-threatening for once. Not to mention, Captain Carter requested your company."

"My company?" Jack asked, in almost a squeak.

Hammond eyed Jack a moment before answering. "Your team's company, colonel."

"Of course," Jack said, throwing his hands up in the air, in a subconscious act of nervousness. "My team, that's what I meant."

After a few more details were discussed, Hammond dismissed them and Jack hurried to his office before Daniel started badgering him, again, about his attraction to the blonde captain.

**------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

'Okay,' Jack mentally encouraged himself. 'I can do this! Just walk in there, nonchalantly acknowledge her, crack a funny joke, and ask her out. Easy. I can do this,' he continued, pacing back and forth in front of the stairs leading up to the control room.

Jack was so caught up in his encouraging chant, that he failed to notice General Hammond turn the corner for the control room and stop and watch Jack pace the small corridor.

"Colonel, what are you doing?" Hammond finally asked.

Jack immediately stopped and, with his hands shooting up into his hair, turned to see General Hammond standing in front of him with a very bemused look on his face. "Uhhh….just thinking, sir," he said in almost a question.

"Well, stop," Hammond replied and then continued to walk towards the control room steps.

Jack turned to watch Hammond go and noticed several technicians and Captain Carter watching the scene between him and Hammond. 'Damnit!' he cursed under his breath. 'They must have heard Hammond yell. No reason to stay out here now,' he mumbled below his breath before following Hammond up into the control room.

"Colonel O'Neill, it's nice to see you again," Carter greeted, a warm, slightly humorous smile on her face.

"You, too, Captain," Jack greeted, noticing the humorous glint and wondering if she knew he had been pacing the corridor for a good ten minutes.

Sam reported Col. Smith's progress to General Hammond before he continued up the spiral staircase to his office. Jack watched the men working in the gate room for several minutes after Hammond left before getting up the courage to talk to Sam again.

A few minutes after Hammond headed up to his office, two technicians had disappeared and the third had gone to the back of the room to record some readings. Figuring it was now or never, Jack cleared his throat and turned to Carter. "So, uh, how long are you going to be in town?" he coughed out.

"Oh, a few days," Sam answered, looking over at Jack and smiling shyly.

Jack nodded his head, nervous and unsure of how to continue. After clearing his throat, again, Jack put his hands in his pockets and turned back towards the pretty captain. "Uh, you, uh, going out to dinner again with Hammond's daughter?"

"No, not this time," Sam replied as she typed in control functions on the computer in front of her. "I, actually, haven't even gotten around to calling her this trip."

"I see," Jack replied, tipping himself back and forth on his heels. "So, you don't have dinner plans tonight?"

Sam lifted her head and looked over at Colonel O'Neill, a look of surprise on her face. 'Was he going to ask me out?' she wondered. "Um, actually, I do have plans for dinner," she replied, a little disappointment in her voice.

"Ah," Jack responded and pulled his hands out of his pockets to fidget with some buttons on the wall. "Hot date?" he asked with his back turned to Sam, almost too low for her to hear him.

"Uh, no. It's with Daniel," Sam said as she watched the colonel mess with the intercom buttons.

Hearing her response, Jack whipped his head around to face her again. "Daniel? You're going to dinner with Daniel?" he asked, quite obviously flustered.

Sam cringed slightly after Jack's reaction. "Yes," she replied, her forehead wrinkled.

"You, you know he's married, right?" Jack asked, his voice rising slightly in irritation. 'Why would Daniel ask her out?'

"Yes, I know he's married," Sam replied, still looking at Jack like he just fell off his rocker.

"Okay, well then, you two kids have fun then, I guess. I should probably let you get back to work here before Hammond has my ass for slowing you down. I'll see you later." And with that, Jack turned and fled from the room.

The technician turned around and walked back over to his monitor, taking a moment to look at Captain Carter and size up the lost expression on her face. He had to get the description just right for the rumor mill, after all.

Jack left the control room and headed straight to the office of none other than the SGC's resident archaeologist. "DANIEL!" Jack roared, walking into the young man's untidy work area.

"Jack!" Daniel tried to yell back, but it somehow never came out sounding as belligerent as Jack's.

"Got plans tonight, Danny-boy?" he all but growled at the younger man.

"Uh, yes, actually, I do. Sam and I are going to that new Chinese restaurant that opened last week. Why?"

"You and Sam. You and Sam. You are going on a date with Captain Carter?"

"I guess I never really thought of it as a date. We were talking and she asked if I'd have dinner with her tonight. Hmm, I wonder if this means she's paying.." Daniel mumbled, already lost in thought, rubbing the back of his neck.

"She asked _you_?" Jack roared, his face red. "_Captain Carter _asked _you_ out? Of all people, _you_!"

Daniel looked back up at Jack. "Jack, are you trying to give me a complex?"

"Daniel! Are you forgetting about _your wife_? You know, the woman you're supposed to be spending every waking minute searching the galaxy for? One hot blonde who can speak more technobabble than you and you just completely forget about Sha're!"

"Jack! I have not forgotten about Sha're! She's my wife! Sam and I are friends. There's nothing wrong with two friends having dinner!" Daniel yelled at the colonel.

"Sure, Daniel," Jack said in a calm voice, completely in contrast to his explosive behavior. "You just keep telling yourself that," he quietly finished, throwing the archaeologist a disappointed look and walking out of his office. His shoulders much more slumped than they had been in quite some time.

A few hours later found Jack knocking on Teal'c's quarters. He had spent the majority of his day locked up in his office, fuming about Daniel and his date. By 1900, he figured Daniel and Captain Carter would definitely be out of the mountain by now and decided to venture back out into civilization, or at least what passed for civilization 28 floors underneath a mountain!

"Hey, Teal'c, what's up?" Jack asked after walking into the jaffa's living quarters.

Teal'c looked up at the ceiling. "Immediately above us is the ceiling, O'Neill. How far up were you referring?"

"Uh, no, Teal'c. It was just an expression. It means what are you doing."

"Then why not just ask what it is I am doing?"

"Because, it's an expression, just, never mind, Teal'c, okay. We'll….keep working on it," Jack finished, not feeling any less stressed than he was before he left his office.

Teal'c bowed his head. "What brings you to my quarters, O'Neill?"

"Oh, nothing, really," Jack said, sighing and taking a seat in one of the chairs.

"Is there something on your mind, O'Neill?" Teal'c asked after watching Jack fidget in his chair for several minutes and sigh exasperatedly.

Jack shot his head up to look at Teal'c. "Why do you ask?"

Teal'c stared at his friend and lifted his eyebrow.

"It's just….Did you know Daniel went out to dinner with Carter tonight?" Jack blurted out.

"You are unsettled by Daniel Jackson and Captain Carter having dinner together?"

"No!…….yeah."

Jack shuffled around in his seat some more and then buried his head in his hands.

"I do not believe there is any romantic interest between Daniel Jackson and Captain Carter," Teal'c announced in his monotone voice.

"And yet, they're having dinner together," Jack said through his hands.

Teal'c cocked his head, a gesture that was not seen as Jack still had his hands covering his face. "Captain Carter merely invited Daniel Jackson to dinner to take his mind off of Sha're."

Jack lifted his head up to look at the jaffa, confusion creased across his face.

"Daniel Jackson confided that today was the anniversary of his marriage to Sha're."

"Ah, shit!" Jack cursed, realization dawning on his face. "I'm such an ass," he sighed and looked over at his friend. "I accused him of cheating on Sha're with Carter."

"I believe Daniel Jackson understands your actions, O'Neill. He will forgive you, of that I am certain."

"Well, at least someone is. I think I'll head over to his apartment to apologize. They should be done with dinner by now." Jack stood up and headed for the door, reaching the door, he turned back around to Teal'c. "Thanks, Teal'c."

"You are welcome, O'Neill."

After changing into his jeans and t-shirt, Jack headed out of the mountain and over to Daniel's apartment. By the time he entered Daniel's building it was already 2030. Figuring he was probably home by now, Jack took the elevator up to the third floor and knocked on Daniel's apartment door.

"Who is it?" a female voice sounded on the other side of the door.

"Uh, Captain Carter?" Jack asked, his heart rate quickening at hearing her voice.

"Yes."

"It's Jack O'Neill. Is Daniel in there?"

Jack heard the lock click and a second later the door opened to reveal Sam Carter. "Hi, colonel," she greeted and opened the door wide enough for him to enter.

"I didn't know you would be here," Jack told her, completely honest.

Sam gave him a small smile. "I thought drinking would be a good idea. So, after dinner we came here."

Jack smirked. "So then, where is Danny-boy?"

"He…. passed out," Sam told him, crossing her arms across her chest and rolling her eyes as she tried to suppress the grin that wanted to spread across her face.

Jack smirked even bigger. "How many beers did he have?"

"Two."

"Just two! And he passed out!" Jack laughed in disbelief.

"And three shots of tequila," Sam added, her face scrunching slightly in worry.

Jack looked at Sam. "_You gave Daniel tequila_?" he gasped.

"I didn't know he couldn't handle it," Sam whined, a pleading look on her face. "I even made sure it didn't come with a worm."

Jack laughed out loud. "Daniel's the biggest light-weight ever when it comes to drinking."

"Yeah, now you tell me," Sam said sarcastically and laughed.

Jack's heart jumped at hearing the woman laugh and turned warm, laughing eyes back to her pretty face. "Thank you. For doing this for him. I should've remembered. I guess….. I'm not such a great friend after all."

Sam smiled at the colonel. "Daniel was telling me earlier how great you've been since he returned from Abydos."

"Really?" Jack asked in surprise and took a seat at Daniel's small dinette table.

Sam gave the colonel another warm smile. "Yeah, he really looks up to you. He told me if anyone can get Sha're and Skaara back, it will be you," Sam told him, taking a seat across from O'Neill at the dinette table.

"I don't care if it's me who gets them back or not, as long as someone gets them back. They're both great people. They don't deserve this. No one does," Jack sighed.

Sam reached over and covered Jack's hands with her own. "You'll get them back. I'm going to have to agree with Daniel on this one," she said in a low voice, looking in his eyes with a small, shy smile playing on her face.

Jack couldn't move. He couldn't take his eyes off her. He just sat there, holding her hands and staring into her beautiful blue eyes. Finally, when he noticed her cheeks were starting to redden, he coughed lightly. "Uh, anymore alcohol left?"

Sam lowered her gaze, trying to recompose herself and get her cheeks to go back to their normal color. "Yeah, quite a bit, really. There's more than half a bottle of tequila and probably eight bottles of beer left."

"Sweet," Jack said, standing up and opening the fridge, pulling two bottles out and handing one to Sam.

Sam smiled and took the proffered drink. "Wanna play cards?" she asked.

Jack smiled warmly. "Sure."

A couple hours later, Daniel woke up and stumbled to the kitchen where Sam and Jack were laughing and slamming cards down on the table. "What are you doing?" he asked, holding his head in his hands.

"Playing war. Wanna play?" Jack asked, looking up at the disheveled man.

"Uh, no. Don't you think we get enough of that at work?" Daniel asked, only half-joking as he opened a cupboard and took out a bottle of aspirin.

Sam smiled at Jack and then looked over at Daniel. "Are you going to be okay, Daniel?' she asked, looking concerned.

"Yeah, thanks, Sam," Daniel said, popping the pills and slugging down half a bottle of water.

"Why don't you go on to bed and I'll take Carter back to base," Jack suggested.

Daniel nodded his head and started heading towards his bedroom.

Jack watched Daniel stumble down the hallway. "Um, I'm going to go make sure he gets all tucked in. I'll be right back," he said, standing up.

"Okay. I'll pick up our mess out here before we go," Sam returned.

Jack followed Daniel to his bedroom and helped the younger man find his way back in bed. Once he was sure Daniel was lying down and wasn't going to fall off the bed, he apologized to him about his earlier behavior. Just as Teal'c predicted, Daniel forgave him and mumbled something about good luck and Sam before falling back to sleep.

Jack grinned at the geeky man who had somehow wormed his way into his heart before heading back out to the awaiting captain.

"Daniel's out again," he said, walking back into the living room.

Sam smiled. "Good. I picked up our mess, but I really don't think he'll even notice," Sam said, looking around at Daniel's disorganized apartment.

Jack laughed. "Yeah, Daniel gets so involved with his work, he doesn't pay attention to where he puts anything."

"I guess if it wasn't for the military, I could've ended up like that," Sam cringed, walking towards the door.

"Thank God for the military, huh?" Jack joked, seeing the captain's jacket hanging over the back of Daniel's recliner and retrieving it for her. He walked up behind her and helped her put it on.

"Thank you," she said softly after slipping her coat on and turning around to face Jack.

"Anytime," he whispered, his eyes locked on hers while his hands still rested on her shoulders. Before he realized it, he had moved closer to the captain and leaned in, gently touching her lips with his own.

The feel of her lips against his caused Jack to back away slightly, not wanting to force her into anything and knowing she had quite a bit to drink.

Sam opened her eyes and looked at Jack. Instead of backing away, she leaned back in and captured Jack's lips with her own.

Jack was stunned. He knew she was probably drunk, but at the same time, her lips were causing all sorts of fuzzy feelings all over his body. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer to him, his tongue begging for entrance in her mouth. Sam's lips complied and let him in to taste and explore the confines of her sweet, warm mouth.

Moments later, Jack pulled away and rested his forehead against hers. "You okay?" he whispered, his hands playing with her hair.

She smiled. "Yeah, great," she whispered back.

"I should get you back to the base," Jack said in a disappointed tone.

Sam let out a sigh. "Yeah," she whispered, her eyes shifting to the floor.

"Dinner…..with me, tomorrow?" he asked, still playing with her hair.

Sam lifted her head back up to meet Jack's gaze. "I'd like that."

Jack smiled warmly. "Good. Me, too."

Sam smiled back and then leaning back up, kissed Jack again. The kiss was meant to be short and sweet, but it turned passionate rather quickly and when they finally pulled away, they were both panting for air.

Jack moaned and smiled at Sam before finally removing his hands from her hair and leading them both out of Daniel's apartment.

He dropped her back off at the base and went home with a huge smile plastered on his face.

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a/n: So, like I said above, my mind is being pulled in two different directions, so if this chapter is really bad, let me know and I'll just delete it and try to come up with a better one. Damn my love for football!


	5. Chapter 5

Alternate Politics

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**Chapter Five:**

Jack stood against the hood of his truck, taking in the scene before him with a smile on his face. A few feet in front of him was his team, Captain Carter, and the little girl who had won over all their hearts. Cassandra had been attached to Sam from the moment she met her. And, Jack could tell, Sam was quite attached to the little girl, as well.

Jack still hadn't got his date with Carter yet, something he planned on rectifying as soon as possible. The day after their kiss at Daniel's, a goa'uld sarcophagus arrived at the SGC. Apparently, the women of the SGC, including Captain Carter, were the only ones unaffected by Hathor and thus, were responsible for stopping Hathor before she repopulated the earth with baby goa'ulds. Jack cringed at the thought!

Once Hathor disappeared through the stargate, Jack hoped to get his much-anticipated date with Sam, but she was immediately called back to Washington. Even knowing she would be back in a few weeks for their mission to Hanka to witness the eclipse, he was still greatly disappointed that they would have to postpone their date even longer.

He had visualized a nice, romantic day on Hanka prior to their arrival. Of course, the last thing he expected was to arrive on the planet and find everyone dead. Everyone that is, except for Cassandra.

He saw the look on Sam's face when the full information of what was going on with Cassandra was discussed. He knew she had grown attached to the little girl, and her death by the hands of the goa'uld was going to tear Sam apart. He barely knew the woman, and all he wanted to do was hold and comfort her, to take all the misery she was feeling away. He knew how she felt, he had lost his son, and even though Cassandra was not Sam's daughter, at the moment, Sam considered her to be.

He couldn't believe the mountain of emotions he felt when Sam had gone back down to stay with Cassandra in the nuclear facility. He had only been around this woman a handful of times, and yet, he felt like if he lost her, he would never be the same. A part of his heart had healed when he met Carter, it had been so broken after losing Charlie and Sara, but this woman, somehow, just the thought of her was medicine for his aching heart.

Watching as Sam and Daniel swung Cassandra between them, Jack remembered the girl's surprise in his truck and walked around to retrieve it. Grabbing the dog, he walked through the park and towards his team.

They spent the rest of the afternoon in the park until Cassie let out a humungous yawn and Sam declared they had had enough fun for one day. Daniel scooped up the tired little girl while Teal'c held the dog, and the group made their way back to the parking lot.

"So, have you found anything out yet?" Jack asked quietly, he and Sam a few steps back from the rest of the group.

"No, not really. General Hammond is trying to get me transferred permanently to the SGC so I can have a more stable life. Janet's going to take her for now, at least until I can get things sorted out."

"Everything will be fine, Sam. Hammond's got your back on this," Jack tried to console her.

"I know, but there are a lot of people who don't want me tied down here. I'm really worried they won't let me have her, Jack." Sam slowed and turned to face Jack as she confessed her fears to him.

Jack, still reeling over hearing his given name come out of her mouth, and the emotions she was allowing him to see, stopped and wrapped his arms around her. He held her tightly, wishing he had some way of giving her everything she wanted. "It's going to work out, Sam. I promise."

Sam sniffled and buried her head further into Jack's neck, still upset, but at the same time, delighting in the smell of Jack O'Neill. A few seconds later, she pulled off his shoulders, her face back to the neutrality expected of an airforce officer.

"Hey," Jack said, lifting her chin up with his thumb so she would look at him. "Trust me," he told her, a deadpan look on his face.

Sam gave him a warm smile. "I do," she whispered. "I do."

Jack leaned in and kissed her on the forehead and then tugged on her hand as they headed off to catch up with the rest of the group.

They all retreated to Janet's house so Cassie could settle in. Janet had gone out while they were at the park and bought a bunch of girl things for Cassandra. She had just finished making Cassie's bed and stocking her bookshelf with several children's books when the large number of people came bounding into her small home.

"Hey!" she greeted, her eyes settling on the little girl curled up in Col. O'Neill's arms, did you guys have fun?"

"Oh, yes! Lot's of fun," Cassie declared, lifting her head off Jack's shoulder. "And Jack got me a dog."

"A dog?" Janet repeated, tossing a glare at the colonel.

"Uh huh, it's a rule, every earth kid has to have a dog."

Janet shook her head at the colonel, throwing him an 'I'll get you back with huge needles' glare.

Before Janet could even register who all was in her house, Daniel had already called in a pizza order while Teal'c and Tobias made themselves comfortable in Janet's living room. Having invited Sam to stay with her whenever she was in town, Janet shouldn't have been surprised that SG-1 just assumed they were all invited as well. Realizing the closeness SG-1 had formed with the captain, Janet surmised that this would be the norm whenever Sam was here. Surprisingly, Janet found herself looking forward to spending time with this odd bunch of people.

Once the pizza arrived, everyone dug in and Cassie promptly declared that pizza was her favorite earth-food. Jack decided to begin Cassie's schooling on earth-culture by sticking in the movie 'The Wizard of Oz,' and everyone settled in to watch it.

Teal'c had commandeered Janet's lazy-boy while Janet, Daniel, and Tobias were spread out on the large sofa. Cassie, Jack, and Sam had taken over the smaller loveseat. Jack sat in between Sam and Cassie, wanting to narrate any confusing parts for Cassie.

By the time Dorothy met the scarecrow, Tobias' attention had been pulled over to the trio on the loveseat. She couldn't help but notice how relaxed her CO was in between Sam and Cassie. If she didn't know better, she would have assumed they were one, happy family. As this thought struck her, Claire realized that it was exactly what the colonel needed. It was obvious that he was a family man. She had been there when the blue crystal had morphed into the colonel and then into his dead son. She tried to talk to him afterwards and comfort him in anyway she could, but he just pushed her away. Seeing the three on the couch, Claire became increasingly aware that it wasn't her he needed to comfort him.

Claire felt a small bubble of jealousy erupt in her stomach at knowing that it was Captain Carter who the colonel needed. Anyone else and she would have been fine, but it always seemed to come down to Captain Carter. Carter held the highest awards and honors at the Air Force Academy. Carter was the Pentagon's golden girl. Carter was General Hammond's pet. Carter was the envy of most of the women at the SGC. She was the one the men all drooled over whenever she was on base. Everywhere she went it was always Carter, Carter, Carter!

Even her own team were in love with the wonderful Captain Carter! Daniel had her cellphone number on speed dial and called her almost everyday, no matter where she was in the country. Teal'c always made sure to have a conversation or two with the oh-so-wonderful captain whenever she was in the mountain. And, the colonel. Don't even get her started on the colonel! He was head-over-heels for the captain. _That _was quite obvious! Even right now, he had his arm around her as she was snuggled into his side. Tobias couldn't help but notice the colonel's hand as it ran light circular caresses on Carter's bare skin that was exposed between the hem of her shirt and the waistband of her jeans.

Tobias turned her head back to the television. The last thing she wanted to do was be accused of voyeurism. She tried to keep her attention on the movie, but thoughts of the colonel and Capt. Carter kept assaulting her mind and causing her to grow more and more agitated.

By the time the movie was over, Claire had had enough. All she wanted to do was go home and gulp down a bottle or two of wine and pass out. Sure, she found the colonel hot. Sure, she respected and admired him. Maybe even had a little bit of hero-worship for the high-ranking officer. He was an astounding man. But, she did not have a crush on him! She was fine with him dating women. She wanted him to have a life and a family again. Just not with Captain Carter! Anyone but her! Why did it have to be her? Why was it that the pretty little general's daughter always got what she wanted?

Tobias sneaked a peek back over to the loveseat and noticed the trio all gleefully happy. Sam was laughing and Cassie was screeching as Jack tickled her on her sides. Sam was still sitting impossibly close to the colonel, even with him jerking around as he attacked Cassie.

"Well, I'm outta here," Claire stated, a little harsher than she meant to, as she stood up and stretched.

"I must take my leave as well," Teal'c announced, standing up out of the lazy-boy.

Daniel jumped up off the couch and adjusted his glasses. "I'll run you back to base, Teal'c."

Teal'c nodded his head in acquiesce.

"And, it's time for you to head on to bed, little miss," Sam declared, looking at Cassie.

"Come on, I'll show you your new toothbrush and get you all tucked in," Janet said, walking over and holding her hand out for Cassie.

Cassie hopped off the couch and hugged both Sam and Jack good night before taking Janet's hand and heading to the bathroom.

"Well, guys, we'll see you tomorrow," Daniel announced as he, Teal'c and Tobias all slipped on their jackets and headed for the front door.

"Good night, guys," Sam replied, smiling and waving, not moving away from Jack.

"See ya," Jack added, his own grin gracing his face as he watched his team head out.

Once they heard the click of the front door shut, Jack turned his attention back to Sam, tightening his hold and pulling her closer to him. "Sooo, when do I get that date?" he cooed into her ear.

Sam smiled, her whole body quite warm. "I have to take care of a few things in DC and then I'm scheduled for a two week visit to Area 51 before I can even think about coming back here," she sighed, disappointment evident in her voice.

"What about Cassie?"

"Janet's going to work on getting her up to par to start school. She has to learn how to read and write before we can enroll her or people might get suspicious. Even if General Hammond can get me transferred, I still have to finish my Area 51 assignments and the work at the Pentagon before I'll be cleared to leave. At least, going back tomorrow, I can get a head start."

"There's that," Jack replied, still holding her close to him as he took in the intoxicating smell of her hair. I've got three missions scheduled in the next two weeks, so I guess we'll both be busy."

Sam nodded her head, getting more and more comfortable on Jack's body.

Before long, Janet came back out and the three conversed about the recent events and how best to adjust Cassandra to earth living. An hour or so later, Janet gathered the few dishes still in the living room and took them to the kitchen.

Jack sighed. "I should probably be going. It's getting late," he said, reluctantly, not really wanting to move.

"I'll walk you out," Sam replied softly.

Jack nodded and the two stood up. After telling Janet good-bye, Jack led Sam outside and over to his truck. Sam was standing next to him, her arms crossed across her chest trying to keep in the warmth. She hadn't bothered to slip on a jacket before coming out.

"So, you head back tomorrow?" Jack asked.

"Yeah. But, I'll be at the base in the morning. I have a few things to take care of before my flight back."

"Good! Well, I'll see you tomorrow then. Don't leave without telling me good-bye," he ordered, a gentle grin on his face.

"Of course not," Sam replied.

Jack shifted his weight, all of a sudden a little apprehensive. "C'mere," he ordered in a soft voice.

Sam walked into his hold and they both felt a sense of relief in each other's arms. Pulling away slightly, Jack leaned in and gently met her mouth with his own. Just as before, their kiss turned passionate quite quickly. And, Jack was beyond reluctant to pull away.

Unfortunately, making out in the good doctor's driveway was no way to reward her for her hospitality, so they eventually pulled apart and Jack hopped in his truck to head home.

Sam watched his truck pull out of the driveway and down the street, the warmth she felt coursing through her body from Jack had quickly dissipated after he pulled away, and Sam rushed back inside to escape the cold air.

Janet had a huge grin plastered on her face as Sam came back into the house. "Soooo?" she prompted.

Sam's face reddened in embarrassment. "What?" she tried, but the large grin that spread quickly across her face betrayed her.

"You two look like the perfect couple," Janet squealed.

"Oh, Janet!" Sam sighed. "He is so perfect!"

Janet grinned. "I'm happy for you, Sam. For both of you. He obviously thinks the world of you."

Sam grinned, unable to hide her happiness. After a little girl talk, mainly focusing on Jack's features, the women headed off to bed.

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One month later………

Jack was outraged. He couldn't believe this was happening! He couldn't believe she would do this! Why would she do this? Jack paced the general's office, furiously.

"I don't understand!" he hissed.

"Jack, calm down," George ordered. "This was her decision. I'm sure she had a good reason."

"_Good reason_? Sir! You had her transfer orders! She was all set to be transferred here permanently and she just upped and changed her mind! Why would she do that? She promised to take care of Cassie and instead just called up Frasier and told her to adopt her herself! What the hell is going on with her?" Jack fumed.

"Colonel! I wish I knew! But, the fact of the matter is, I don't. Jack, don't give up on her yet, son. I saw the look in her eyes when she turned down the transfer. There is something else going on, I'm sure of it," Hammond stated, wishing he could tell the colonel more.

"Then why won't she talk to us? I called her four times! She hasn't called me back at all."

Hammond shook his head, unsure of how to calm down his outraged colonel. "Just give her some time, Jack. She'll let us know when she's ready."

Jack let out a grunt and asked to be dismissed.

Hammond nodded and watched as the colonel stomped out of his office. His anger obviously trying to cover up his broken heart. Hammond thought back to the other day when Captain Carter was in his office.

"_Sir, I'm sorry, I can't take the transfer. I-I've got Janet to adopt Cassie. I can't be a large part of her life."_

"_Sam, why? I don't understand," Hammond asked, a confused and worried expression on his face._

"_I can't say, sir. I'm sorry."_

"_Just give me something, Captain."_

_Sam shuffled her feet, fighting an internal battle of what to tell the general. Coming to a decision, Sam lifted her head to meet the general's gaze. "Let's just say the extra gate the colonel and Teal'c found in Antarctica is turning out to be more trouble than it's worth."_

"_Can you elaborate, Captain," Hammond asked, now more worried than before._

"_I'm afraid not, sir. Not yet. I have to take care of this," she replied, sadness radiating through every pore in her body. She turned to leave, but then changed her mind and turned back around. "Sir, please don't tell Colonel O'Neill what little I've told you. I know he will try to do something, and he can't. Not yet."_

"_Okay, Sam. I'll keep this just between you and I. For now. But, I need updates or else I will have no choice but to tell him. It's going to be a hassle keeping it from him as it is."_

"_I know, sir. Thank you."_

General Hammond shook his head as he heard the colonel's loud voice yell at an airman who had probably made the mistake of getting in his way. "I hope you figure this out soon, Sam. For Jack's sake as well as the rest of ours."

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a/n: And, thus, drops the other shoe, folks! Oh, woe is me, what will happen next?


	6. Chapter 6

Alternate Politics

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a/n: This chapter covers the last three episodes from season one, including the two-parter that continued into season two. I hate commentating, so anything that is the same in both realities is either not mentioned, or briefly summarized. I hope this doesn't confuse anyone. Forgive me for any mistakes.

This chapter is for **MAYOGATE** for her subtle badgering about this chapter, and for **Katie** and **Equinox** who both just wanted to see their names in bold.

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Chapter Six:

For the next several weeks, Jack had returned to the angry, bitter man he was before the first Abydos mission. Daniel was more worried about him than ever. He had even tried to call Sam to find out what happened between the two, but she was tight-lipped and only talked to him very briefly before claiming she was needed elsewhere and hung up.

After several unanswered phone calls, Sam finally responded to Jack's incessantness. She didn't talk directly to him, but left him a voicemail claiming she wasn't in a place in her life right now where she could be in a relationship. She went on to tell him that he was a great man and she hoped they could remain friends. Jack was furious!

It wasn't just the fact that the first woman he had opened his heart to after his son's death had rejected him, but that she had also rejected Cassie. He was well-aware that the adoption had been completed and Janet Frasier was now the sole guardian of Cassandra. As wonderful as he was sure Janet would be with Cassie, it wasn't the point. Sam had promised to always be there for the little girl, and then she just ups and leaves, no explanation, no real good-bye, just gone. He felt a small amount of hatred rapidly growing in his gut over Sam. Everything he thought she was, turning out to be the complete opposite.

That's why, when they had finally found Daniel on the toxic planet the goa'uld had destroyed and got him back to earth and to the infirmary so the doc could tend to the burn on his shoulder, Jack was shocked to see Samantha Carter talking with Janet.

"Carter, what the hell are you doing here?" he sneered as he stared her down.

"Ja-Colonel, it's good to see you," she said in a low voice, her body quaking slightly over his angry sneer.

Daniel crawled up on the bed and Janet went over to investigate his wound. "How did you get this, Daniel?" she questioned.

"Teal'c did it," Daniel answered.

Everyone turned shocked looks towards Teal'c.

"I did not," Teal'c stated in his monotone voice, his head held high.

"No, he didn't," Daniel continued. "I was in an alternate reality. That version of Teal'c did this."

"An alternate reality?" Sam piped up, her interest piqued.

Jack glared over at the captain, angry that she just assumed she could jump right in to SG-1 business. "What _are_ you doing here, captain?" he barked.

Sam jumped a little at the tone of his voice. She looked at him, her bright blue eyes showing a sadness Jack had previously missed. "The president has asked me to come and speak on behalf of the SGC for the hearing."

"What hearing?" Jack and Daniel both asked.

"You don't know?" Sam asked in surprise.

"Uh, no," Jack snapped in irritation.

"Senator Kinsey and _Lt. Colonel _Samuels are trying to close down the stargate."

"What?" Jack, Daniel and Tobias all shrieked simultaneously.

"They can't!" Daniel protested as a nurse tried to bandage his wound. "Don't you see? The goa'uld are coming! They were already attacking in the alternate reality. We have to go to these coordinates and stop them before the same thing happens here!"

"Daniel," Sam spoke up. "If you really were in an alternate reality, by definition our realities are different. Just because they attacked there, doesn't mean they will attack here."

"But, they were close, Sam," Daniel defended.

"Okay, so there were similarities. What were the differences?" Sam asked, much to the irritation of Jack who just wanted to get as far away from her as possible.

"Uh, let's see….Teal'c was leading the attack on earth. Claire and I weren't even a part of the program. You and Jack were engaged to be married…"

"Excuse me," Jack cut in, his eyebrows shooting up his forehead.

"What?" Sam gasped in surprise.

The two exchanged a look, both understanding the attraction their alternate versions had for each other.

Sam shook herself back to the matter at hand and turned back to Daniel, but before she could continue, General Hammond and Lt. Col. Samuels entered the infirmary, abruptly ending the debate on alternate realities.

No one was happy about the hearing with Senator Kinsey. As SG-1 went to don their dress clothes, Sam took the opportunity to lock herself in her old quarters and try to calm her beating heart back to it's normal, steady pace.

Sam's nervousness returned in the briefing room a half-hour later as she waited with SG-1 for the hearing to start. Now that the alternate reality discussion was over, the fact that none of SG-1 wanted to see or speak to her hitting her like a slap in the face. She sat down nervously next to Teal'c, the stoic warrior the only one Sam could trust not to start an argument with her.

When he tilted his head to her, a warm look flashing briefly across his large face, Sam immediately felt her body start to relax. At least she still had one friend in the room.

Jack stood tensely awaiting the arrival of the senator, his eyes constantly being pulled to the beautiful captain like a magnet. He was pissed that she was here for this. She chose not to be a part of this program! Why the president would consider her opinion as worthy as his team's, he couldn't comprehend, and this angered him even more.

Just when he was about to snap at Sam again for her intrusion on _their_ base, the senator and his entourage came strolling into the briefing room.

An hour later and the hearing was not going well for the SGC at all. It was quite obvious to everyone that Kinsey had already set his mind to closing down the program and nothing or no one was going to change his mind. All of SG-1 along with General Hammond and Captain Carter were frustrated beyond belief.

Sam took advantage of the slight pause in between the debate currently flaring between Colonel O'Neill and Senator Kinsey. "Senator, the advances in science and technology we can acquire through the stargate is reason enough to keep it running," she stated.

"Is that so, captain?" Kinsey quickly turned on her, his voice patronizing at best. "Tell me, captain, exactly how much technology has this program brought back to earth?"

Sam lowered her head, a response to his sarcasm not necessary.

"And, correct me if I'm wrong here, _captain._ But, as the very person who worked aggressively to get the stargate program up and running, weren't you _denied_ your rightful place on SG-1 simply because Lt. Tobias here made a fuss that your personal connections in the military and to General Hammond gave you an unfair advantage in getting the post?"

Sam lifted her head and glared at the senator, her reasons for not getting the spot on SG-1, no one's business but her own. "That has no bearing on this hearing, whatsoever, senator," she cooly stated. "I am behind this program one hundred percent because it gives us an enormous advancement in our understanding of the universe. _Where_ I am assigned doesn't change the fact that this program is worthy of every penny spent on it!"

"Says you!" the senator sneered.

"Says everyone but you and Sparky!" Jack roared back.

"I have found not ONE good reason to keep this program open. It is being closed!" Kinsey heatedly announced, gathering his files and marching off.

Daniel chased after him, trying to get him to change his mind by telling him about his tale of an alternate reality. Sam stepped in and tried to explain the physics behind Daniel's story, but the senator didn't understand a word that came out of her mouth. Not wanting to look ignorant, he blew up at them both and stormed out of the room.

Not knowing what to do now, Jack found his eyes drawn back to the captain. "What the hell was that about, Carter?" he barked.

"Sir?" Sam questioned, hurt by his anger and not knowing to what he was referring.

"You were supposed to be on SG-1?" he asked, his voice lowering, but still filled with anger.

Sam bit her lip and gazed over at Tobias who had her head lowered, still sitting at the table.

"No, sir. It was never my spot. I was asked to join SG-1 by Gen. Hammond, but certain people thought that I was being favored and so, for political reasons, a decision was made to keep me at the pentagon."

"Tobias!" Jack roared, causing the young woman to bolt upright in her seat. "You complained that Carter didn't deserve a position on SG-1?"

Sam answered without giving Claire a chance. "It was more than one person, Jack. Tobias got the position because she was right underneath me at the pentagon."

Jack's eyes bored into Sam. He fully understood that Sam was sticking up for Tobias. A little of the frost that had been forming in the place Sam had been in his heart started to melt. She had every right in the world to be angry and resentful towards Tobias, but she never was. Even now, when the truth of how a lieutenant came to be on SG-1 was out, Sam still remained neutral.

His eyes left her and traveled over to Tobias. The young lieutenant cringed at the look of utter disappointment that flashed in his eyes, directed solely at her. She had seen that same look often in the eyes of General Hammond, he being the only other one on base who knew how she got her position on SG-1.

Jack didn't know what to think. First, he was furious with Sam, then he was furious with Tobias. Deciding he really needed to get away from the female population, he retreated to Hammond's office, the thought of trying to get the senator's decision overturned taking up precedence in his mind.

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Unable to get the senator's decision overturned, the SGC officially started the process of shutting down. Captain Carter remained on base to help with the computers and the file transfers to Area 51. Jack paced the halls, trying to scour a reason to keep the program up and running. Tobias was already packing her lab and Daniel and Teal'c were sulking in the control room.

Sam joined them there when she was finished with her work. The covered computers giving a ghostly feel to the previously active control room. She sat down in one of the chairs, her own disappointment over the end of the program as strong as Teal'c and Daniel's.

A few minutes later, Jack came strolling in. He and Sam glanced at each other, a look of surprise on his face that she was there. "Well, it's officially being shut down the day after tomorrow. Nothing Hammond can do to stop it," Jack announced, his hands in his pockets as he leaned against the wall behind Sam.

"Then I must depart through the stargate," Teal'c announced.

"We all must go through the stargate!" Daniel exclaimed. "To these coordinates. To stop the attack!"

"Daniel, how do you even know the coordinates are the same in this reality?" Sam asked calmly from her seat.

"There's one way to find out!" he challenged.

"We should enter the coordinates and attempt to open the gate," Teal'c replied.

Daniel nodded his head at Teal'c.

"Okay, hold on," Sam started, rubbing her hand across her forehead. "Has anyone realized that we would be in gross violation of orders, Jack, you and I would both be court-martialed the second we got back."

"_If _we got back," Jack corrected, leaning slightly forward with his hands still wedged in his pockets. "But, that is irrelevant for you, captain. You're not going. Teal'c, Daniel and I can handle this."

"I don't think so, colonel," Sam exclaimed, her eyes burning into his.

"You said it yourself, Carter, we would be defying orders. There is no reason for you to risk your career. You can help us get the computers back up and running and then we're off," Jack stated.

"I'm going!" Sam exclaimed.

"Carter…"

"Sir, it's all the same. Whether I only help with the computers, or go through, I will still be defying orders. I'm going with you."

Jack, not sure how to respond, just turned away from her. She could shake him up so easily and he needed to get his balance back.

"What about Claire?" Daniel asked.

"She doesn't need to know," Jack replied, turning back around to face the group. "No reason for us all to wreck our careers."

Sam nodded and the four of them set off to organize their mission.

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After everything was organized and gathered, it didn't take Sam anytime at all to get the computers back up and running. With Jack's security code, she was able to close and lock all doors in the immediate vicinity to the gate room, and they soon connected the stargate to Daniel's coordinates.

Even Teal'c was surprised when the four of them discovered they were on Apophis' ship, rather than a planet. Battling to save their world, Carter, the men of SG-1 and Bra'tac destroyed Apophis' two motherships and escaped by way of two goa'uld death gliders.

The destruction of the motherships made them heroes and any thought of court-martials was thrown out the window. Once all of SG-1 was reunited and the stargate program was reinstated by the president himself, Hammond ordered a party in celebration. The commissary was decorated and cake and alcohol was brought in from off-base.

Jack was working through a keg with the marines of SG-3 when he caught sight of Cassie sitting on Sam's lap in the corner. Sam was hugging her and stroking her long hair. Her mouth moving as she talked to the little girl, but Jack was too far away to hear what she was saying.

Seeing Sam with Cassie and the reminder that the woman just gave her up, reignited the anger in Jack once again. With quite a bit of beer in his system, Jack stood up and made his way over to the woman and child. "Carter," he growled, coming up and standing in front of her.

Sam and Cassie looked up at the colonel. Sam immediately noticing the alcohol-induced glaze in the man's eyes. "Cassie, sweetie, why don't you go see Janet. I'll catch back up with you in a little bit, okay?"

"Okay, Sam," Cassie replied, hopping off of Sam's lap and running over to Janet across the room. "Colonel?" Sam responded once Cass was out of earshot.

"What the hell are you playing at, Carter? You think you can just push us all away and hide out in DC and then mosey your little butt back here whenever you want and expect us to come running, arms wide open!"

Sam had been waiting for this, ever since she saw the hateful look in Jack's eyes when he saw her in the infirmary. "This is not the place to have this discussion, Jack," she hissed between her teeth, trying to keep her voice down.

"That's _colonel_ to you, _captain!"_ Jack growled, stepping beside her and opening the door to the corridor. "Then let's take this somewhere else," he ordered, grabbing her by the arm and pulling her out of the room.

Sam went willingly, after everything, she owed him that. They ended up outside his quarters and after sliding his card in the slot, he opened the door and pulled Sam into his room.

Sam looked around the small quarters. Being second-in-command of the base had afforded Jack a few luxuries the rest of the base didn't have. "Sit!" he barked, pointing to an overstuffed chair in the corner.

Sam walked stiffly to the chair and sat. "I'm sorry, Jack. I never meant to hurt you, or anyone else for that matter…"

"Then why?" Jack cut in, whipping his body around to face her, a look of desperation evident on his face.

Sam bit her lip, her own heart breaking upon seeing the look on his face. "I-I didn't have a choice. You have to believe me," she whined.

"Believe you? How can I believe you when you won't even tell me what's going on, Sam?" he cried out.

Sam almost cried when she heard him finally use her first name again. Something he hadn't done the entire time she had been back. "Don't you think I want to?" she cried, her eyes welling up with unshed tears. "Don't you think I would love to have you take care of all this for me, Jack. The fact is, you can't! No one can. I have to take care of this on my own."

"What, Sam? What is going on?" Jack broke down and sunk his knees to the floor, his arms resting on Sam's legs as his hands grasped her thighs and he stared into her watery eyes. "Tell me something, please," he cried in a broken voice.

"I can't, Jack. I'm so sorry!" she cried, moving forward and burying her face in his shoulder. "God, I want to! I want it all to go back to the way it was!"

Jack couldn't believe what he was hearing. He let go of his grip on her thighs and wrapped his arms around her back, pulling her practically out of the chair as he hugged her to him. "I want to help you, Sam," he whispered through his own sobs. "Please, let me."

Sam kept her face buried in his shoulder, tears running down her cheeks and wetting the colonel's shirt. He lifted her up and switched positions, taking the seat in the chair and setting her down on his lap. He kept her hugged to him, his hand playing with her short strands of hair that kept covering her face.

They stayed like that until Daniel came beating on the door, wanting to make sure everything was okay. After being told that Hammond wanted to give a speech and they all needed to be there for it, Sam and Jack stood up and made themselves presentable again.

Daniel returned to the commissary ahead of them, wanting to inform everyone that they were on their way. Sam reached for the knob when Jack stopped her. He took her hand off the knob and turned her back around to face him. Cupping her face with his large, warm hands, Jack gazed in her beautiful eyes before lowering his mouth to hers.

It was like he couldn't stop himself. He wanted to be mad at her, but for some reason, his body just wanted to touch her, anyway he could. His hands moved to the back of her head and fisted in her hair as he pulled her even closer to him.

She wrapped her arms around his waist and opened her mouth to him, wanting his tongue inside her as much as he did. As the kiss deepened, their hands started wandering all over each other, the contact, somehow, healing both of their hearts.

They finally pulled away, Jack letting go of her hair, but still wrapping his arms around her waist and keeping her close. He rested his forehead against hers. "Please, Sam, you have to tell me something," he pleaded with her. I can't go through this without knowing why."

Sam brought her hands up and settled them against his cheeks, her thumbs lightly caressing his heated skin. "I don't know what to tell you," she confessed in a low voice. "It's the NID, Jack. They're, they're up to something. I don't know what yet."

"We'll figure it out," Jack told her, his hand coming up and capturing one of hers.

"No, Jack! You can't. I have to do this alone. Too many people involved and they'll catch on. Please!" she pleaded.

Jack kept his eyes locked with hers, he understood why she wanted to do this alone, but at the same time, felt an intense need to protect her. He let out a loud sigh. "Okay, Sam. For now, but please, don't push me away anymore."

Sam gave him a small smile and nodded her head. Just having Jack back making her whole life seem worth living again.

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a/n: Hope it wasn't too bad. I hate following the show, but with the way I have this going, the show is kind of working as the skeletal structure. If it was really bad, let me know and I'll try to fix it up some.


	7. Chapter 7

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a/n: To all those worried about this story's future: Don't worry! I have every intention of finishing this story, too! Besides, I have a team of badgerers who harass me if I go too long between updates!

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**Chapter Seven:**

Jack couldn't have been more excited. Here he was, in Washington DC, he had Sam's home address and he was on his way there now. It had been weeks since he had seen or talked to her. Whatever it was she was trying to find out about the NID was taking up all of her spare time. But, the president had been insistent on awarding Jack and Sam medals for their part in destroying Apophis' ships and he was taking this great opportunity to see the beautiful, young astrophysicist as much as he could while he was in town.

The taxi pulled up in front of a large, old building and Jack paid the driver and hopped out. It was definitely an old building, probably turn of the century. Jack looked down at the scrap of paper in his hand. He already had her address, including apartment number memorized, but he still looked at the paper, as if it would somehow get him to her sooner.

The building had no elevators, so he had to hike up three flights of stairs to her floor. He approached her door and realized just how nervous he was. Here he was, a forty-year old divorcee, nervous about seeing his…what? Girlfriend? Yeah. Girlfriend! Jack grinned. The realization that Captain Samantha Carter was, indeed, his girlfriend, causing his manly insides to turn to mush.

Somewhat more confident, Jack knocked on Sam's door.

Sam, having no idea who was at her door, peeped out the peephole and gasped. She quickly pulled back and unlocked the door. "Jack!" she shrieked and jumped into his arms.

Before Jack could fully understand what was happening, Sam had him yanked into her apartment, her lips firmly pressed to his. Not one to fight with a woman, Jack succumbed to her will.

"I didn't think I'd see you until the ceremony," Sam breathed the first time they came up for air.

"I got an earlier flight so I could see you," he replied, his lips and tongue venturing down her neck.

Sam moaned, the only response she was capable of making at that moment.

They eventually made it to the bedroom and took the next step in their relationship. In fact, they spent the whole morning in that next step.

Sated and comfortable, cuddled together on Sam's full-sized bed, Jack stroked her back while they laid in each other's arms. "Ceremony starts at 1300," Jack whispered.

Sam groaned. "Don't wanna get up."

Jack chuckled. "Me neither, but I think the president would notice, considering the ceremony is in our honor and all."

Sam lifted her head, her tousled hair falling over her face and making Jack fall that little bit more in love with her. She looked up at him, smiling the smile that, if he wasn't already laying down, would knock him off his feet. "Hmm, are you coming back here afterwards?"

Jack sucked in a sharp breath and Sam already knew his answer. The disappointment was shooting through her body before he ever even opened his mouth to speak. "I can't."

Sam nodded, her head buried in his bare chest so he couldn't see her heartbroken face.

"My team went back to Abydos. I promised I'd join them right after the ceremony."

Sam, still on the verge of sobbing, just nodded again in understanding.

"You…..could come back with me. Take a little bit of your vacation time?"

Sam unburied her head but kept her cheek on his chest, enjoying the contact. "I can't," she squeaked out. She sniffled. "I…I wish I could, but I can't."

Jack tightened his hold on her, trying to comfort her with his strong embrace. "Why?" he asked so low, it almost went unheard.

"I have…a meeting," Sam confessed.

Jack pulled back, his hands going to Sam's arms and lifting her up so he could look in her eyes. "The NID?"

Sam licked her lips and nodded.

"Why didn't you say anything?"

"I just did," she defended.

"Have you told Hammond?"

Sam shook her head. "Not yet. I was hoping to get some time alone with him today."

Jack let go of her arms and ran his hands through his hair, exhaling loudly and laying down on his back. "Tell me," he basically ordered, his eyes firmly locked on the ceiling.

Sam swallowed the lump in her throat and imitated his position next to him. "Someone approached me last week. I've never seen him before. He said that his organization is aware that I should have gotten the position at the SGC. He said if I was interested in a position, it would be worth my while. He gave me a card with a date, time, and location."

"It could be dangerous," Jack spoke in a soft voice.

"It's just a meeting. I promise to be careful. I think they're planning something big, Jack." Sam turned her body and supported herself on her elbow, looking at her lover.

Jack reached his hand up and stroked her cheek.

She leaned her head on his warm hand. "I have to do this, Jack," she meekly whispered.

"I know," he replied, still stroking her cheek.

Sam, deciding it was time to change the subject, brought up another painful topic, but something she really wanted to know. "How's Daniel?"

Jack cringed a little. "He's…..better now. From what Janet said, the goa'uld, tok'ra, whatever, it broke down and his body absorbed it. He's still having some atrocious nightmares, but he's doing a lot better. He was insistent on going back to Abydos."

Sam nodded. She had been worried about Daniel and was only able to talk to him briefly after his near-death experience with, apparently, a tok'ra named Jolinar of Malk'shur.

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They made it to the awards ceremony half an hour late. Even though they were the guests of honor, no one seemed to notice. Sam was surprised to find her dad there. The two-star general not at all happy to see his only daughter draped on the arm of a wise-cracking colonel. Sam managed to find an opportunity to debrief Hammond on her "meeting" and was dumbstruck when her father informed her he was dying of cancer.

He had wanted her to transfer to NASA. He had pulled strings for her, something she always complained she never wanted him to do for her, and something she lost her position at the SGC because people thought he already did for her.

He was angry when she turned him down. NASA was nothing compared to the SGC. And, even though she wasn't exactly stationed there yet, she was still working hard on ensuring it's survival.

As soon as the ceremony was over, Jack and Hammond left to catch their flight, both of them insisting Sam call them as soon as she got back from her meeting with the NID agent.

Two days passed.

Two more days passed.

No one could get a hold of Sam. She hadn't been seen or heard from since leaving for her "meeting."

Jack was worried sick and going stir-crazy. Where was she?

Two weeks later, Jacob was admitted to the Air Force Academy Hospital and still no Sam. Jack and George visited him almost daily, informing him of any updates on his missing daughter.

When three weeks had passed Jack couldn't take it anymore. "Sir, if we don't do something, she's not even going to be able to say good-bye to her father!"

"I know that, colonel! But, tell me, what more can we do? We've got people looking for her everywhere!" George proclaimed, standing up behind his desk.

"Daniel says he remembers the coordinates to this tok'ra homeworld."

"Jack…"

"Sir, Daniel says they're friendly. Even Teal'c says they are, and you know how he feels about the goa'uld! Sir, Daniel says they have technology, they have ships that can scan an entire planet and tell us where she is."

"Jack, it's never that simple, son."

"I didn't say it was going to be simple, sir. But, we have to try something."

"I know Capt. Carter has become an important person in your life…"

"Hell, yeah, she's important! To me, to this whole fuing program!" Jack, realizing his anger was getting away from him, reeled his emotions back in. "Sir, we have to at least try," he practically begged.

Hammond nodded. "We'll debrief in an hour."

"Yes, sir," Jack triumphantly replied, his body filling with a refreshed sense of hope.

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Whatever Jack was expecting on the other side of the stargate, a desert was not it. But, then again, he wasn't expecting a group of people to pop up out of nowhere either.

Once Daniel explained who they were and how they had come to find them, they were led to a set of rings and transported underground in what one of the tok'ra explained as tunnels formed by crystals.

They met the high council and offered to become allies. Unfortunately, the tok'ra only considered those willing to become hosts as allies. Daniel, trying to stay diplomatic, explained that none of them could understand why a person would agree to become a host.

"We take hosts who are dying and want to live," one of the tok'ra explained.

"But, none of us are dying," Daniel informed her.

"There must be someone who is sick. Surely your world is not disease-free."

"Well, no, but…."

"Cancer!" Jack cut in unexpectantly.

Everyone turned to him in surprise. "Ja-ack?" Daniel drawled out dramatically.

"Sam's dad! He's dying of cancer. Can you cure his cancer?" Jack asked, his voice still raised in excitement.

"What is cancer?" the tok'ra asked.

Daniel piped up. "It's a disease that afflicts our people, uh, it's when cells overgrow and form tumors…"

"Oh, yes. We cure that all the time. No problem!"

Daniel turned to Jack. "Ja-ck?"

Jack shrugged. "We have to at least offer it to him. He's worried sick about Sam. He's giving everything he has to hold on until she's found. If we give him an opportunity to not only live, but to help find her, I think he'll do it."

With the chance to get a host for Sel'mak, the tok'ra allowed Jack and Teal'c to return to earth.

Daniel and Claire remained on the planet with the tok'ra to ensure Jack and Teal'c's return.

Shortly after Jack and Teal'c left, Daniel decided he needed to get some air. The tok'ra tunnels, though so familiar from his dreams, were making him feel claustrophobic. He excused himself and wandered up to the surface.

Roughly fifty yards away was a slight incline and Daniel headed that way to sit and take in the view of the desert planet. In many obvious ways, the sandy planet reminded him of Abydos and the wonderful memories he had there with Sha're.

He had been there, thinking of Sha're for probably half an hour when he felt a hand lightly land on his shoulder. He turned around and came face-to-face with Martouf. The bright white teeth of the alien causing Daniel to squint his eyes slightly. "Martouf," Daniel greeted in surprise, trying not to stare at the alien's freakishly white teeth.

"Daniel," the tok'ra greeted in a soft voice that raised the hairs on the back of Daniel's neck. He gazed into Daniel's blue eyes, a look on his face that Daniel wasn't comfortable with.

"Uhhhh, um, what can I do for you?" Daniel asked, shifting his stance and backing away slightly from the alien-man.

"I would like to know of Jolinar's last days," Martouf announced.

Daniel, relaxing a little, sighed. "Okay. Well, what do you want to know?"

"Tell me, do you have her memories, her feelings, desires?"

Daniel felt his cheeks flush. Somewhere inside him, obviously the part left over by Jolinar, was becoming aroused by the deep throaty voice of Martouf. Daniel shifted again, his mind reeling over the current predicament. "I-I have some of her memories. I, uh, I know that she loved you very much."

Martouf took a step closer to Daniel, invading the archaeologist's personal space. "A host and symbiote become one when they are blended. What one feels, the other feels." Martouf lifted his hand and stroked Daniel's cheek. "You are all that is left of my beloved."

Daniel jumped back and held his arms up, defensively. "Whoa there! I-I-I'm a man!" Daniel yelled.

"Symbiotes are A-sexual. We are neither male nor female," Lantesh spoke up, taking a step closer to Daniel, again.

"Yeah, well, I'm heterosexual! That means, unless you go into a female body, I would appreciate you NOT touching me!" Daniel yelped.

"I apologize, I did not mean to make you uncomfortable," Lantash's voice sounded out again.

Daniel, always able to forgive people easily, just shrugged. "It's okay, I understand. I'll be happy to tell you anything you want to know, but please, no touching!"

Martouf smiled, his white teeth, once again, catching Daniel off-guard. "Very well," he replied.

Daniel sat back down, a good distance from Martouf, still unsettled over the recent display of affection from the alien-man. He told him all about the last days of Jolinar's life inside his body and only stopped when Claire appeared. "They're back!" she informed them.

They all headed back to the tunnels to see if Jacob had agreed and returned with Jack and Teal'c.

In fact, Jacob had agreed, and the implantation went forth without a hitch. Once Sel'mak eradicated the cancer from Jacob's body, the symbiote immediately requested a ship to fly over earth and scan the planet for Sam.

Jack and Daniel joined Sel'mak in the tel'tak while Teal'c and Claire returned to earth to update the general.

It took them two days to reach earth in the tel'tak. Jacob maneuvered the ship within an adequate distance and scanned the planet, using the DNA code the SGC had provided.

It only took a matter of minutes to scan the planet. Jack held his breath the whole time. The light humming noise the ship's scanners made shut off abruptly and Jacob's shoulders slumped in defeat.

"Well?" Jack's strangled voice croaked.

Jacob took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, trying to reign in his emotions. "Nothing. She's not showing up on the ship's scanner."

"What does that mean?" Jack asked, his heart racing in his chest.

Sel'mak's voice filled the small cargo ship. "It means she is either not on the planet…..or she is dead."

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a/n: I know I took a creative leap with the tel'tac having advanced scanner technology, but hey, it's AU anyways, so I can get away with it!


	8. Chapter 8

a/n: This is the best I could do with this chapter. It proved to be quite difficult to write. I hope it's not a total bomb! Please let me know either way.

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**Chapter 8**

Jack was pacing the corridors of the SGC. Selmac and Martouf had both agreed to stay on earth in case they could be useful in tracking Sam. Jack turned a corner and immediately ran into Daniel. "Daniel," he greeted in annoyance.

"Ja-ack!" Daniel drawled out in a whiney voice. "Please tell me I don't have to work with Martouf today!" he pleaded.

Jack snuck a peek at the archaeologist as he continued his pace down the corridor, his hands snug in the pockets of his pants. "Daniel…..you are the one who said they could be important allies and could, possibly, help us find Sam! Now you don't want anything to do with them?"

"Of course not, Jack! I still think they could be great allies. It's just…..Martouf. He, uh, he gives me the creeps."

Jack snickered. He really wasn't planning on it, but it slipped, nonetheless.

"It's not funny, Jack!" Daniel yelled at his friend.

"Oh come on, Daniel! You've got to admit, it is kind of funny!"

"Not to me!" Daniel replied, his voice rising and turning pitchy.

Jack grinned just as Martouf rounded the next corner.

"Dr. Jackson!" Martouf greeted, staring into Daniel's blue orbs. "Your eyes are quite beautiful," he commented, causing the young archaeologist to blush.

Daniel glared at Jack, who just widened his smirk. "Marty! Daniel says you've been working wonderfully together," Jack announced cheerily, his grin now taking over his entire face.

"We are quite compatible, Colonel O'Neill. I can understand why Jolinar chose Dr. Jackson as a host."

"She didn't choose me!" Daniel protested. "She didn't have a choice. I was giving her host mouth-to-mouth. It was either go in me or die."

Martouf and Jack looked at Daniel after his little outburst. "I apologize if I have upset you, Dr. Jackson," Martouf replied an awkward moment later.

"Ah, don't worry about it, Marty. Danny-boy just hasn't had his recommended daily dose of caffeine yet. He'll be back to his adorable self in no time."

Daniel glared at Jack again before stomping off to his coffee machine.

"I am afraid I come bearing bad news, colonel," Martouf spoke once Daniel had stormed off.

Jack raised his eyebrow. "Oh?"

"As Selmac was checking in with our people today, she was informed that a tok'ra spy in one of Apophis' fleet has been discovered. We are the closest with a tel'tac and have been ordered to assist in rescuing the operative."

"So, you're leaving?"

"Indeed. However, Jacob Carter has made it clear that we will be returning as soon as possible to continue the search for his daughter."

Jack nodded, a lump forming in his throat. The tok'ra had been here a week already and still they were having no luck in locating Sam. They had scanned the planet three different times already and even had special equipment brought through the gate to assist in locating the missing captain.

Martouf accepted the colonel's nod and bowed slightly before turning and heading in the other direction.

Within the hour, Jacob and Martouf were leaving earth's atmosphere in their ship and Jack, feeling forlorn, decided to head home early and spend the weekend with his good friend, Jack Daniels.

And, that was exactly what he did. By Sunday, Jack was pretty sure there was more alcohol than blood running through his veins, and, as he looked around his messy home littered with empty beer, rum, and tequila bottles, he wondered if he would even be able to function come Monday morning.

He shifted, miserably, on his couch, his head pounding and his stomach lurching at the slight movement. He reached his hand out to steady his queasy body and knocked over a half-full bottle of schnapps he had found buried in the back of his cupboard. "Shit," he moaned, swiping up the bottle before all of it's contents soaked into his carpet.

"Damn it," he complained while watching in fascination as the puddle of liquid spread out in a circle and drenched his flooring. The schnapps had been a welcome discovery late Saturday night after he had finished off the rest of his 12 pack of Guiness, the other half of his Jack Daniel's and whatever had been left of the tequila. His weekend had been spent in drunken bliss.

Instead of finding something to soak up the soon-to-be stain, he laid his head back down on the arm of the couch, the stench of alcohol wafting up and twisting his stomach nauseatingly. Jack worried briefly that he might vomit right there, making even more of a mess on his carpet.

The thought crossed his mind that he should try to pull himself off his couch and journey to the bathroom. Relieving his alcohol-enhanced full bladder and a nice hot shower might help relax his churning stomach. But, just as he decided his head couldn't be moved just yet, the shrill cry of his phone pierced the quiet room and Jack bolted up, covering his ears from the loud intrusion.

He reached over and snatched the phone off the hook, praying to whatever God was listening that it wasn't the SGC wanting him to come in today. "What!" he croaked into the receiver.

"Jack," Sam's almost forgotten voice came over the line.

"Sam? What the….where are you?" Jack's voice gasped into the phone, his physical state forgotten at the sound of her voice.

"Jack, I don't have time. They'll be looking for me soon. Listen, there is a leak at the SGC. You have to find the leak, Jack."

"Sam, where are you? We've been looking for you for weeks."

"I know……. They know. They're not going to let me go, Jack. Please, you have to figure out who the leak is. They know more than I thought. Stuff they shouldn't."

"Sam."

"Jack, I'm sorry. I should have listened to you, I'm in over my head."

"Baby, just tell me where you are!" Jack screeched into the phone, his fear for Sam causing his emotions to break through his normal stoicism.

"I can't, Jack! We're leaving again. I have to go. Find the leak, Jack. The person has access to all of SG-1 mission files."

"What? Sam!"

CLICK

"SAM!" Jack shouted into the phone. "Shit!"

He kept the silent phone to his ear, hoping, somehow, she would come back on the line until he heard another click and the operators recorded, nasally voice say, "If you would like to make a call, please hang up and try again."

"Damn it!" Jack yelled and slammed the phone down. A sharp pain shot through his hung-over head at the rapid movement and Jack cried out in pain as he clutched his head, a tear, whether from the pain or the fear of Sam being hurt, he wasn't sure, rolled down his cheek, burning his flesh in it's wake.

After a shower and an entire pot of strong, black coffee, Jack left his house and made his way to the SGC. Intent on filling in the general on the new information of Sam. He was scared and overjoyed at the same time. Sam was alive! Thank God she was still alive. Now, he just had to get her out of danger. How the hell was he supposed to do that?

With such little information to go off of, Jack and George were at a stand-still as to what to do about Sam. Hammond pulled all of SG-1 mission reports and Jack and the general started going over each one, trying to find something that would hint as to who the leak could be.

When nothing was forthcoming, and in order to avoid alerting anyone to what they were doing, Hammond decided it was best for SG-1 to continue with their scheduled mission to a planet the natives called Madrona.

They had been there previously and were amazed at the technology the inhabitants had in their possession. They actually had a device that controlled the weather on the entire planet. When SG-1 reported back to Hammond about the 'touchstone,' the general ordered a return trip to study the device to see if it was something they could copy.

Tobias had tried to talk the inhabitants into letting her take it apart, but they refused and Jack explained to her that it would be dangerous to their planet for her to do so, just in case she couldn't put it back the way she found it.

Tobias looked downtrodden, but agreed with the colonel and planned to bring through special equipment on their next visit that would help in distinguishing the energy output and functions of the small device.

Unfortunately, instead of the nice, sunny weather SG-1 was expecting when they stepped through the gate to Madrona, the team was met with a fierce electrical storm. After being accused of stealing their treasured device, SG-1 was told that people, dressed like them, had come through the gate in the dark of night and stolen the touchstone.

Insisting they were innocent, Jack talked the leader into letting them go back to earth to try and find out who took the touchstone and to, hopefully, get it back for them.

As the stargate whooshed open and Daniel punched in the GDO code, Jack had an overwhelming sensation that this little debacle had a lot to do with his phone call from Sam the day before.

Once back on earth, Jack told the general about the missing touchstone and asked to speak to him privately in his office. "Sir, are you sure no one went through the gate?" Jack asked, after he explained everything to Hammond.

"Colonel, no one uses that gate without me knowing about it. If people from earth went to Madrona, it was not through that gate."

"Sir?" Jack questioned, raising his eyebrow in curiosity at the general.

Hammond sighed and steepled his fingers, breathing into them before turning his attention back to Jack. "Son, you should know……when Captain Carter first came to me denying the position here, she informed me that the stargate you and Teal'c discovered in Antarctica may end up being more trouble than it's worth."

"Meaning?" Jack prompted.

"Meaning it is very likely that a covert team is using that gate to steal alien technology."

"And Sam found out about it."

"Possibly. Colonel, for the sake of that planet, we need to get to the bottom of this."

"Yes, sir. I agree. Do you know where the second stargate is being stored?"

"Area 51."

"Permission to take my team on a little trip to Nevada, sir?"

"Denied."

"Sir?"

"Jack, I'm asking you this off the record, son. How much do you trust your team?"

"Sir?"

"I have gone over all SG-1 missions with a fine-toothed comb, colonel. And, the fact of the matter is, it is very likely that someone on SG-1 could be the leak Captain Carter was warning you about."

"Sir, with all due respect, I can't imagine anyone on my team being a spy. I mean, Teal'c is more loyal to you and I than anyone else on this planet, and Daniel is all about exploration and making friends, he could care less about earth getting its hands on weapons and technology…."

"And Lt. Tobias?" General Hammond asked.

Jack shook his head. "I can't say one way or the other, sir. I would like to believe she's good and honest, but just knowing how she got the position on SG-1 makes her shotty at best, sir."

"I had a feeling you would say that, Jack. That's why I think it's best for me to give Claire and Daniel both the rest of the week off while you and Teal'c look into this…..accusation from the Madronans."

"Sir? Daniel?"

"I don't want to raise any unwanted attention, Jack. Giving both scientists some downtime and letting my special-forces trained colonel and his jaffa friend handle this is plausible."

Jack nodded, understanding where the general was coming from. "Well, then, permission for me to show Teal'c the wonderful state of Nevada?"

General Hammond smiled. "Permission granted, colonel. Check in every few hours."

"Yes, sir," Jack replied and saluted sloppily before leaving the room to find Teal'c.

**----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

"Colonel O'Neill, what a pleasant surprise," Col. Maybourne announced, walking in behind Jack and Teal'c. "Teal'c, it's good to see you well," he added, referring to the last time they had met when Teal'c had been bitten by a giant alien bug and slowly metamorphosized.

Teal'c approached the small man, his large body leaning ever so slightly into Maybourne's personal space, causing the weasely colonel to gulp in unease. "In my culture, I would be well within my rights to dismember you," Teal'c announced in his monotone voice, his hands locked behind his back, yet still exuding a strong aura of might.

Maybourne's façade fell momentarily, allowing both Jack and Teal'c to witness the sudden look of fear flash across his face.

Jack let a small smirk form on his face at seeing the smaller man tremble under Teal'c's calm wrath. "We came for the touchstone."

"The what?" Maybourne asked.

"You heard me, the weather-changing device. Don't play coy, Maybourne. We know you're using the other gate."

"Ja-ack! The other gate has been in a crate in storage ever since it was brought here from Antarctica."

"I want to see it," Jack demanded in his strongest colonel-voice.

Maybourne nodded. "This way," and led them to a large warehouse.

Jack entered the building and immediately started prying open the crate. He moved the packing foam and saw the stargate right where it was supposed to be. "Damn!" he hissed just under his breath.

Teal'c knelt down beside him, his hand reaching out and caressing the decommissioned gate. "O'Neill, they are deceiving you. This is not the stargate."

"What?" Jack asked, turning to better see Teal'c.

"I sense no naquada. This stargate is not the stargate we went through in Antarctica."

Jack reached his fist out and knocked on the ring of the stargate. "It's plastic!" He stood up, turning around to swiftly face Maybourne. "What the hell are you up to, Maybourne?"

"Jack! Trust me on this. This goes higher than you…."

"I have top-level clearance, Maybourne."

"In the military you do!" the smaller colonel rebuffed.

"You're saying this is a civilian operation?"

"I'm not saying anything, Jack. Just to leave it alone," Maybourne warned before ordering them to leave or be forcefully removed.

Jack and Teal'c returned to the SGC, no more closer to finding Sam or the touchstone than they were before leaving.

**--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

When Jack walked into General Hammond's office, he was both surprised and relieved to see Jacob sitting in one of the chairs opposite the general's desk.

"Jacob!" Jack greeted in surprise after entering the room and shutting the door behind him.

"Jack, George told me Sam called you. Any luck in Nevada?"

Jack sighed and took a seat in the empty chair next to Jacob. "Not much. The other gate is no longer at area 51. Maybourne basically confirmed that we're dealing with a civilian operation, the NID are more than likely involved."

General Hammond shook his head in worry. "All my attempts to contact the president have been diverted. I have the sinking suspicion that whoever is behind this, is pulling strings in DC as well."

Jacob cleared his throat. "Well, I don't know what you can do about DC, but we can track the other gate with the tel'tac," Jacob announced.

Jack and George gawped at the tok'ra/retired general.

"We can?" Jack finally managed to get out.

"Yes. Every stargate is made up of naquada. Because it is not a normal mineral on this planet, the sensors should be able to locate it immediately."

"What about our stargate?" Jack asked.

"The ship's sensors will pick up both gates. We know where this gate is located, so we can ignore it and focus on where the other one is."

Jack clapped his hands together. "Great! Let's go!"

Jacob and Jack turned their heads to Hammond. "Go!" Hammond replied.

Jacob, Teal'c and Jack were aboard the tel'tac shortly thereafter and Jacob quickly scanned the planet for a strong trace of naquada. The computer beeped as it located the SGC's stargate, but Jacob ignored it and continued the scan.

Within seconds the computer beeped again as the scanner locked on a location in southern Utah. Jack contacted General Hammond and informed him of the location as Jacob landed the ship in a forested section a short click from the beep.

The three of them, armed with zats, entered the small compound, hearing the familiar sound of the stargate locking on coordinates. Jack moved stealthily into the large, open room spotting the missing stargate lying on its side. A small crate was a few steps in front of him and he slowly approached it, opening it and recognizing the touchstone packed safely inside.

He nodded and gestured for Jacob and Teal'c to take up his flanks and they slowly worked their way around the warehouse.

All of a sudden, a man appeared, surprised to find Jack, Jacob, and Teal'c in the building. He pulled out a gun and started firing at the men.

Jack heard the stargate whoosh open and, being pinned down by gunfire, the only thing any of them could do was watch as Sam was pulled out of one of the trucks in the warehouse and pushed into the wormhole, followed by two other men before the stargate deactivated.

Jacob ran into the back of the truck. "Damn it!" he yelled in defeat.

"What?" Jack asked in concern, running in behind him.

"I didn't see the coordinates. Jack, they've got my baby out there somewhere!"

"I know, Jacob," Jack told the older, distraught man, setting his hand on his shoulder for comfort. "We'll find her. I swear if it's the last thing I do, Jacob, I'll find her."

**-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**


	9. Chapter 9

**a/n:** This chap is a little more action/adventure, something I'm not very good at writing, so be kind! And, like always, ignore all my mistakes.

**-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

**Chapter 9**

Sam heard Jack's voice outside the truck she was in. She turned, not letting Alex or Tyson see the look that flashed across her face. 'Shit, Jack,' she thought. 'Please don't get hurt!'

The loud whoosh of the stargate opening penetrated her thoughts.

"Let's go!" Alex yelled, peeking out the side of the truck to see if it was all clear. "Now!" he demanded, grabbing Sam's upper arm and pulling her out of the back of the truck.

Sam tried to pull her arm out of his grasp with no luck. He hurled her towards the stargate. Sam desperately searched out the room as she was pulled along, needing to see Jack, just to make eye contact, assure him she was okay. When her eyes landed on the form of her father in odd clothes, Sam's eyes enlarged in shock. He shouldn't be here! He should be in chemo! Sam's confusion was evident on her face as she continued to stare at her father.

"Sam!" Jack yelled, just before she was pushed through the wormhole. She moved her head enough to see Jack before finding herself on another planet. She stood up and dusted herself off, the grief-stricken look on Jack's face flooding her mind.

"Damn it, Carter!" Neumann yelled once the stargate shut down. "How the hell did your boyfriend find us?"

"I don't know," Sam quickly replied, letting the surprise of seeing her dad show on her face, knowing the others would think it was surprise for seeing Col. O'Neill.

"Really? How is it that of all the people on the planet, it was your boyfriend who found us?"

Sam glared at the man. "He's NOT my boyfriend! How many times do I have to tell you people that?"

Neumann walked closer to her, settling his hands on his hips. "So, the man our video surveillance saw you sleeping with days before joining us just so happens to find our secret little landing strip?"

Sam bit her bottom lip, but tried not to let any of her emotions show on her face. She should have known they had bugged her apartment. The thought of them having video of her and Jack sleeping together made her stomach turn in nauseating twists. She gritted her teeth. "I was with you the whole time on earth, how could I have gotten a hold of him? He's searching for me, and he's special forces, is it really that surprising that he found us?"

"Well, lucky for us, now that he's got the other gate, we won't be returning to earth, so we shouldn't have to worry about him anymore," Neumann sneered, a triumphant glint in his eye.

Sam couldn't help but shiver. She wasn't sure what caused it. The thought of having no way back to earth, or the look of animalistic pride on Neumann's face.

"Tyson, dial us out of here!" Neumann yelled over his shoulder, giving Sam one more glare before turning and walking towards Alex.

Sam let out the breath she didn't even know she was holding. What the hell did she get herself into?

Tyson dialed the gate and they all stepped through to the abandoned building an SG team had found months ago. The building was on the top of a cliff and was not accessible except through the stargate. The planet was catalogued and filed away, no purpose for it being determined with the SGC.

Maybourne had received the report on the planet, and once the second stargate was brought to Area 51, he immediately started sending teams through to set up an outpost. Sam had been here a few times already, helping bring through supplies and set up quarters in the alien building.

She really had no choice in the matter, and wondered how many others had been forced into working for the NID. She had been given an ultimatum when she met with Maybourne. Either join them in finding and retrieving alien technology for the benefit of earth, or disappear. And, as soon as she agreed, Maybourne had whisked her away, not even letting her say good-bye to anyone.

It had been a few days later that Neumann had approached her, telling her he knew all about her relationship with O'Neill. At first, she thought he was just going off rumors, but when he informed her of the bugs Maybourne had planted in her house, she cringed. They knew she was working with Jack and General Hammond and they took her anyways. The fear had evidently showed in her eyes because just then Neumann had laughed. "We knew you were with them even before we bugged you, Carter," he said in an evil chuckle. It was then she knew for sure, they were never going to let her go.

Sam sighed and looked around the small gate room of the building. Now that they were cut off from earth, this would be her new home. For now.

"Carter!" Neumann's voice, once again, pulled her from her thoughts. "You can bunk with Ax," he told her, emptying out the contents of his pack on one of the back tables.

Sam turned and looked at him, confusion on her face.

"I'm Ax," a young girl with long blonde hair announced in a southern accent, stepping towards Sam.

"Ax?" Sam questioned.

The girl smiled warmly at Sam. "Lt. Katie Axania. Ax for short, but you can call me Katie. The NID recruited me a few months ago. Come on, I'll show you to our quarters."

Sam followed the young girl down the corridor. "Odd last name," Sam said, trying to start a conversation.

"Oh, it's Welsh. My grandparents came over right before World War II."

"And the accent?"

Katie smiled. "Alabama," she said in pride. "Sweet home Alabama."

Sam giggled just as they entered a small room with two loft beds. "Here we are. Just throw your stuff wherever."

Sam set the small bag she had been carrying down and hopped up on one of the beds. Her muscles singing as they were finally able to relax slightly. "So, you've been here a few months?" Sam asked the girl after a few minutes of silence.

Katie didn't reply immediately, but sighed instead. "Uh, yeah," she quietly replied in a sad voice. "I'm a geologist. The NID gave me this big, huge speech about how my work was needed in defending my country. I'm first and foremost an Air Force officer, so I jumped at the chance…….. They failed to mention the treason part of the job."

Sam closed her eyes. Grief for the young woman being in a similar situation she was in, and relief that she wasn't in it alone coursing through her tired body.

**-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

For months, Sam worked with the rogue NID on the desolate, abandoned planet. Maybourne had set up rules they were all forced to follow or risk execution. They were not allowed to leave the planet without Maybourne's authorization. They had to do exactly what they were told, taking out anyone who got in their way. No matter how innocent that person might be.

It was enough to make Sam sick to her stomach every day of the week.

Along with going on missions to steal the alien technology, Sam was also given information from the SGC about new technology the 'real' teams brought back. Maybourne had his dirty hands in everywhere and was able to get classified files and reports through to Sam on a regular basis.

Currently, Sam was reading through the information the SGC had obtained when Sokar had used sub-atomic particles to bombard the iris. She was deeply intrigued with this new chapter in physics humans had yet to figure out. The report she received was mostly blackened out, so why Sokar had bombarded the SGC iris, Sam did not know. She was only aware that he did and then, for some reason, he stopped and left earth alone.

She was aggressively working on the equations when Neumann entered her quarters. "Carter," he said in greeting.

Sam looked up, allowing a very small smile to play on her lips. "Neumann, what can I do for you?"

In the last few months, both Sam and Neumann began to trust each other just a tad bit. She had risked her own life on a mission to save his, that went a long way in the trust department. In return, he started treating her like a human being, and she started relaxing more around him. She never forgot what this man was capable of, but she knew she was stuck with him for the time being.

"Maybourne just gave us our next mission."

Sam set her pencil down and gave Neumann her undivided attention.

"Apparently, Apophis has been killed. Maybourne wants us to go to Chulak and see what we can scrounge up. The first time SG-1 went there, they were mistaken as gods, with Apophis dead, we should be able to get in and out without any trouble."

Sam creased her forehead in concern. "Chulak is the jaffa homeworld, how can Maybourne be so sure we will get no resistance?"

"Well, we'll just have to go and found out for ourselves," he replied with a boyish grin. "Pack up, we head out in ten. Ax is going too."

With that, he left and Sam quickly packed to go off-world. Chulak! This did not sound like a good idea to Sam!

Sam should have listened to her gut, because as soon as they walked through their stargate to Chulak, they were under fire. Hiding behind a large stone, Sam heard the unmistakable word, "Kree!"

She closed her eyes. So much for no resistance!

"Tauri!" came the voice of one of the jaffa. "You are outnumbered. Surrender now or die."

Sam looked over at Neumann, a fearful look evident on his face. He glanced at Sam before a complete look of defeat covered his face. Sighing, he dropped his weapon and stood up. "We surrender," he told the jaffa.

The rest followed Neumann's lead and they were all escorted to a large holding cell. "You will remain here until my master is ready for you," the jaffa informed them, locking the cell door.

"Master? Apophis is dead," Neumann informed the jaffa.

"Klorel is my master!" the jaffa roared before turning and marching out of the room.

"Klorel?" Neumann asked, turning to Sam.

"Skaara," Sam replied, closing her eyes as she remembered the first and last time she had met Klorel/Skaara. It had been on Apophis' mothership on its way to destroy earth. She almost laughed as she remembered how worried she was back then about a court martial. 'Ha! Look at me now,' she thought to herself. "He's Apophis' son," Sam told the rest of her team.

"Shit! Did Maybourne know about him?" Neumann barked.

"How the hell should I know?" Sam barked back, irritated with the man's temper.

Neumann just shook his head and paced the interior of the cell. Assuming he and his team would probably all be killed before nightfall. "Damn Karma," he mumbled to himself, continuing his pace.

**---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

Martouf sat in silence as Klorel raged about the small group of Tauri who had come through the stargate, taking out three of his guards before surrendering. Klorel and Martouf had yet to see them, but the jaffa assured Klorel that these Tauri were none they had encountered before.

This only caused Klorel to snarl at his jaffa. Demanding to know what kind of attack the Tauri were planning against him. His numbers were greatly diminished with the defeat of his father. He was in no way prepared for a battle of any kind.

Martouf was curious to know why the Tauri would send a team to Chulak. They had already discussed the arrival of Klorel on Chulak, taking his father's place. General Hammond and Col. O'Neill had both appeared to be excellent strategists. It made no sense to Martouf as to why either would agree to send through a small contingent of soldiers.

Klorel finished his tantrum and demanded to see the Tauri. He walked to the door, still cursing as he followed a guard down the hall to the prison. Martouf stayed where he was. He did not want to appear too curious and give Klorel or any of his jaffa reason to question his loyalty.

Klorel entered the cell and approached the barred door. His host pelted him with memories of when he had been locked inside that same large cell, desperately searching for his sister. "Tauri!" Klorel roared in anger, mostly caused by Skaara refusing to remain passive inside of him. "I demand to know why you are here!"

"We are not Tauri," Neumann started. "We are only a small group of explorers, with no planet to call home. We meant you no harm in coming here."

"You lie!" Klorel angrily yelled as his eyes locked on Sam's. "How can you say you are not the Tauri when you have Captain Carter in your presence?"

Neumann's face paled and he stole a brief glance in Sam's direction. "We, uh, we found her lost on another planet with no way to get home. She joined us of her own volition," Neumann tried.

"You lie!" Klorel roared again. "You will pay for your insolence! Bring her!" Klorel ordered his jaffa, turning abruptly, his long gold cape swinging out around his ankles at his quick movement.

The guards entered the cell and grabbed Sam, overpowering her and dragging her along behind the small parade of jaffa following Klorel back to his throne.

Martouf lifted his head as the brigade followed Apophis back into the large golden room. His eyes settled on the matted blonde hair of the person fighting unsuccessfully to free herself from the jaffas' grips.

Klorel looked at his guards and they immediately let her go. Her body fell, unceremoniously to the hard, cold floor. She gritted her teeth and lifted herself slowly up with her hands. Settling on her hands and knees for support. She had used all her energy fighting the jaffa and now found herself exhausted and defeated.

"Why are you here?" Klorel asked angrily, his eyes flashing.

Sam looked up at him, refusing to let him see fear on her face. "I am no longer associated with the Tauri," Sam told him through clenched teeth.

"You lie!"

"Why?" Sam yelled back. "Tell me, Skaara, why would I lie?"

Klorel stood up off his throne, his eyes flashing. "I am Klorel! Nothing of the host survives!"

Sam bit her lip and cocked her head to the side, a new found courage taking hold of her body. "Is that so?" she said in a confident tone. "Skaara seemed to be present during the destruction of Apophis' ships. I do recall a short conversation between Col. O'Neill and Skaara. But, dear old dad didn't know about that, now did he?"

Martouf's eyes widened in surprise as he listened to the women talk. She knew Col. O'Neill. His curiosity was piqued, and he was eager to discover who this woman was.

"Lies!" Klorel roared. "I am all that remains in this body! You shall know this to be true, Captain Carter, as I have a queen who will be pleased to take ownership of your body."

Sam's blue eyes flashed with fear.

'Captain Carter! This is Jacob's daughter!' Martouf told Lantesh.

'Indeed, however, there is nothing we can do at this time for her,' Lantesh replied.

'We must get a hold of Selmak and Jacob,' Martouf insisted.

'Selmak and Jacob are currently undercover in Sokar's forces. We cannot risk their mission.'

'Lantesh, this woman is the reason Jacob agreed to blend with Selmak. If we do not inform him immediately, we risk losing his trust.'

'We will pass the information on, that is all we can do, Martouf.'

Martouf grumbled back to his symbiote, letting Lantesh know of his unhappiness.

"Take her away!" Klorel roared. "Prepare my queen for implantation!"

Sam felt the jaffa pull her off the floor and drag her back to the cell, but the overwhelming fear of becoming a host to a goa'uld had taken hold of her body and everything going on around her seemed to be miles away. All she could hear was the sound of her blood pumping madly in her veins. All she could see was blurry, fuzzy images, her eyes refusing to adjust on her surroundings.

**---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

Twenty-four hours after Carter had been taken from their cell, the rogue NID agents still hadn't seen her return. One jaffa had told them she would be returning soon as their queen, but Katie didn't even want to think of what that meant.

She sat on the cold ground, kicking at the pebbles and rocks that covered the ground. Normally, she would find each and every one of these rocks interesting, but right now, all she wanted was to be back home in Alabama, or even taking that trip to Stonehenge she had planned shortly before joining the NID.

She looked up at Neumann, once again pacing the area in front of the cell doors, when a large explosion was heard.

Everyone else in the cell stood up and ran to the cell door. "What was that?" Katie asked, looking at Neumann.

"It sounded like C-4," he told her, his knuckles white as he gripped the cell bars tightly in anticipation.

Minutes later, the door to the cell was opened and a large jaffa appeared. He approached the rag-tag group. "Are you not the Tauri who escaped through the second stargate on earth?"

Neumann blinked as the jaffa's words registered in his mind. Then, as if a light bulb turned on in his head, he realized this was no jaffa. This was Teal'c! Somehow, the SGC had found out about them and sent through a team, more than likely, SG-1.

Neumann nodded. "Yeah, yeah, that's us!"

Teal'c unlocked the cell door and stepped back to let them exit.

"Where's Carter?" a familiar voice sounded, as a figure came pummeling into the prison area.

"She is not present, O'Neill," Teal'c's monotone voice announced.

Colonel O'Neill looked around at each of the rogue agents.

"They took her yesterday," Katie announced anxiously. "They said she was going to be a queen."

"The hell she is," O'Neill replied, turning swiftly and fleeing the room. "Teal'c, leave 'em for now, we have to find Sam," Jack yelled over his shoulder.

Teal'c bowed at the group. "You would do well to retreat to the stargate. This battle is not over and you are all unarmed." With that, Teal'c walked out of the room.

Neumann started walking to the door as well. "You heard him, let's get back to the gate."

"What about Sam?" Lt. Axania asked.

"They'll find her. They didn't come for us," Neumann replied, knowing Maybourne would probably have his ass, but at the time, not really caring. "Let's go."

With that, the small group worked their way to the stargate.

**-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

Sam had been locked in a large, luxurious room for hours. Servants had come in and bathed and dressed her in a long, flowing gown a while ago. She was sitting length-wise on an ornate bench against the wall, her knees pulled up to her chest, worrying about her fate.

All of a sudden, she heard yelling and gunfire. Surprised, she turned, preparing to stand and go to the door, when the door flew open, her father's figure appearing in the door frame.

"D-dad?" Sam squeaked, her eyes wide as saucers. How could he be off-world?

"Sammie, thank God we found you!" Jacob's voice rang across the room. "Are you okay? Can you walk? Did they hurt you?"

Sam shook her head, still unable to move off the bench. "No, no, I'm fine," she said, barely above a whisper.

"Selmak, Klorel has escaped, surely you will not be able to return to Sokar's domain now," a goa'uld voice spoke as a young man Sam had seen earlier in Klorel's throne room entered behind her dad.

Sam gasped as her own father's eyes flashed in goa'uld fashion and the unmistakable voice of a goa'uld came from his mouth.

"We have acquired enough information on Sokar's plan for now. Finding Jacob's daughter was infinitely more important, do you not agree, Lantesh."

"Of course, Selmak," Lantesh replied, bowing his head before looking over at Sam. "Colonel O'Neill will be quite pleased to see you again, Captain Carter."

"Jack's here?" Sam breathed, more confused than ever about what was going on.

"Uh huh," her father's voice spoke up again. "Let's get out of here and find him," he told her, walking towards her to help her off the bench.

Sam flinched at his movement.

"Sammie?" Jacob questioned, stopping and staring in surprise at the look of fear on his daughter's face.

"Who-who are you?" Sam asked, her eyes wide.

"What? Sam, it's me! Your dad," Jacob replied.

Sam shook her head. "No, you're a goa'uld."

Jacob sighed. "No, Sam," he said, holding her gaze. "I'm not. I'm a tok'ra."

"What?" Sam breathed.

"When you went missing, my cancer just about took me out. Jack was able to save my life by introducing me to the tok'ra. They're similar to the goa'uld, but they don't take unwilling hosts, and they don't take over your body, but share it. They are enemies of the goa'uld, and earth's new allies. It was Martouf who told us where you were."

Sam looked over at the man in the doorway. He smiled warmly at her.

Jacob could tell his daughter was still suspicious of him. He grabbed the radio and held down the button. "Jack, we've got Sam, where are you?"

Jack's voice came over the radio and Sam's gaze quickly shifted from Martouf to the radio in her dad's hands. "We're looking for you!" Jack's sarcastic voice filled the room. "Where are you?"

"We're in a sitting room, probably one of Ammonet's old room's. It's off the west wing from the throne room."

"Alright, T and I are headed there. Keep your position. O'Neill out."

Sam looked up at her dad, unshed tears wetting her eyes. A childish need to have her daddy protect her was forming in her gut and the idea of hugging him was winning the battle against soldier Sam.

"It's okay, Sammie," Jacob's soft voice sounded. "You're safe. We're going to get you home."

With that, Sam flung her arms around her dad and hugged him as tight as she could, tears slowly working their way down her cheeks. She briefly thought that this was probably why father's and daughter's should never work together, way too much emotion involved.

"Hey," Jack's soft voice penetrated her thoughts and she quickly pulled out of her dad's embrace.

"Jack," she breathed as she looked into the loving warm eyes of the man standing next to her dad. Jacob stepped back and Sam stood up, only to go into the arms of Jack O'Neill.

He held her close, his heart beating erratically at finally having her back.

After a few minutes of just holding each other, Jacob coughed suggestively and Sam and Jack pulled away. "As much as I love seeing my daughter in the arms of an irate, old colonel, I really think we should get out of here."

Sam smiled at her dad and squeezed Jack's hand before letting go.

They journeyed out of Klorel's palace with little resistance. However, once they reached the outskirts of the town, jaffa appeared in large numbers, and death gliders flew overhead.

"Shit!" Jack yelled. "Take cover!"

Jack had passed Sam a gun and she carefully made her way to a ridge, using the vantage point to get a clean shot of the jaffa ascending on their position. She had taken out several jaffa, when a death glider targeted her position. At the last second, Sam saw the bright objects coming straight at her and she was only able to roll down the other side of the hill to escape death.

The two shots took out the ridge, leaving a gaping, fire hole in its wake. Sam's face paled as she looked at the smoldering mess she had been only seconds before.

"Carter!"

Sam heard her name over the battle noises and turned to see who was calling it. There, hiding behind the large boulders by the stargate was the rogue team. They were in almost the same positions they were in when they surrendered the day before. Four jaffa were shooting at them, not allowing them to dial out and escape. From her position, Sam knew she could take them out easily.

Positioning herself, Sam opened fire on the jaffa, taking out each and every one. She saw Ax jump up and run to the DHD, quickly dialing up their address. Sam turned to see where Jack and the rest of the SG members were. Her eyes found Jack's and locked on them. She could tell by the look on his face that he had seen what she had just done. She could see both pride and a small amount of disappointment in his dark depths.

Yes, the rogue group was going to escape, but she couldn't just ignore them and leave them there to die by the hands of the jaffa either. She started to stand when the ground shook and knocked her back down on her back. She looked up and saw a death glider coming right for her. Her frightened eyes found Jack's once again.

Her fear was mirrored in his own. He held her gaze momentarily and then looked towards the stargate. The rogue team were still going through. If she got up right now and ran, she could make it before the stargate disengaged.

Jack's eyes found hers once again and he knew she understood what he was trying to tell her. He watched as she stood and ran towards the stargate. The death glider started shooting, just barely missing her, before she jumped through the horizon. "I'll get you back, Sam," Jack whispered as the stargate disengaged. "Just hold on a little longer."

The SG teams and the tok'ra continued to fight against Klorel's forces, finally getting the upper hand and escaping back to earth through the stargate. They hadn't brought back Sam or any of the rogue agents, but they did bring back something….hope. Which, Jack reasoned, was immensely better than despair.

**-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**


	10. Chapter 10

a/n: I know it has been forever, but at least I'm _finally_ back to this story, right? I had a lot to fit into this chapter so it jumps a lot. Hope you enjoy it!

**-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

**Chapter 10**

"Axania! Dial up the gate, NOW!" Sam yelled from her position a few yards away from the DHD. A group of them had been sent to a supposed abandoned world to retrieve leftover alien technology. Unfortunately, the abandoned planet wasn't so abandoned afterall, and Sam and her team had been fighting their way back to the gate for over an hour.

Katie reached the DHD and immediately started dialing the coordinates to their base. Just as she pressed the last button and the gate whooshed open, a blast hit her right in her shoulder, slumping over the DHD, Katie moaned in pain, feeling darkness begin to surround her.

The next thing she felt was a tug as she was lifted off the DHD, opening her eyes, she used all her energy to get to the wormhole, leaning on the body of the person half-carrying her.

"We're almost there," Sam's voice sounded in her ear over the noise of staff blasts and gunfire.

Katie closed her eyes, building up the strength to make it the few extra steps to the gate, the blast to her arm was causing pain all throughout her body and she was very close to passing out.

Stepping through the gate, the euphoric feeling swept over her and the familiar quiet of their base wafted into her senses, the last thing she remembered was Sam yelling as the gate shut off.

"Damn it, Neumann! Who the hell is Maybourne getting his info from?"

"What the hell happened?" Neumann yelled back as Riley and Jones took Axania from Sam and laid her on a gurney.

"We were under fire, what do you think happened," Sam sneered back, trying to catch her breath. "This is the third time in a month, we've already lost Dickinson and Monroe. Are they trying to get us killed?"

"No!" Neumann yelled back, though the thought was starting to run through his head. "I better get in contact with Maybourne."

Sam snorted in disgust and then headed to the washroom. The base did not have showers, so they had to use large basins of water to wash themselves. The water was considered a luxury and they often had to go weeks in between bathing. Sam could hardly remember what it felt like to be totally clean anymore.

It had been a year now since she had seen Jack last, since she almost made it back home with him. Locking the door behind her, Sam stripped out of her muddy, bloodied clothes and soaked a rag in the large basin. Wringing it out and lathering the soap on it, she started washing her body from head to toe.

She missed him. She missed earth. Lattes, hot showers, take-out, cheesy Friday night movies, air-conditioning, lounging on her sofa with a pint of ice cream. Yeah, she missed it all! But, mostly, she missed Jack. His smile, his warm eyes, his gentle touch, the feel of him, the smell of him. She just wanted to go home. Home to Jack.

Wiping away the tears that had formed in the corner of her eyes, Sam finished cleansing herself and dressed in a fresh set of clothes before heading out to see what new information Neumann received from Maybourne.

She sighed as she walked back into the main room.

"Carter," Neumann started as soon as she walked in. "I have a job for you."

Sam sighed again, resisting the overwhelming urge to roll her eyes. There was only so much of this bullshit she could take and she had been at her wit's end for months now.

"A member of SG-1 has been trapped off-world for a month now. Maybourne wants to know if you can figure out how to get him home."

"Who?" Sam immediately asked, her face showing the concern that was pumping through her veins.

"Don't know, he didn't say. But, he did give me the information you'll need on what's going on," Neumann replied, handing her handwritten notes.

Sam took the pile of paper from the grubby man. "Thanks," she said, already going over the notes. Without any more acknowledgement, Sam walked out of the room, her eyes on the papers in her hands as she read up on the incident that had taken place on a planet called Edora.

**-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

Three months later……..

"Rob, I just don't feel right about this."

"Oh, come on, you've been doing this for over a year!" Makepeace replied. "Now, you're going to grow morals? Don't you want your CO back?"

"Of course I do! But, what if this doesn't work? What if it needs tweaked at the last minute and I have no idea how to do it? The truth is, I have no idea how she came up with this? It completely denies the law of physics! I don't even know what this is based from?"

"Claire, all her notes are here. All you have to do is build it. You're an engineer! You can do this. Just look at the damn blue prints Carter drew up and build the damn thing!"

Claire licked her lips and nodded her head. "Fine," she snapped in annoyance, taking the notes from Makepeace.

"Good," Makepeace breathed, leaning into Tobias. "Now that that's settled," he leered, pressing himself into the lieutenant, his hands finding their way under the waistband at the back of her pants.

Tobias opened her mouth to him, allowing his tongue to roam her mouth. She hated herself. Hated her need for this man, the need for his approval, his love. She would do anything for him, _was_ doing anything for him. And, she hated herself for it.

An hour later, Claire was wiping herself off and pulling her pants back on. Makepeace was passed out on his bed in his quarters and Tobias quietly picked up Sam's notes on the particle beam accelerator and left the marine's quarters.

She headed to her lab and started copying Sam's notes into her own handwriting.

The next day, she stood at the front of the briefing room and lied through her teeth to General Hammond, Teal'c and Daniel, as she explained "her" idea to build a device that would shoot a beam into the stargate and create a hole through the molten barrier on the other side. With General Hammond's go ahead, Claire was started on the project by the end of the day.

**-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

Two months later…….

Jack woke up and turned to the woman next to him in the small bed. He lifted his arm and rubbed her flat stomach, wondering if his child was growing inside.

Laira woke up at his touch and laid her hand on top of his. "Hmmm," she moaned with a smile, squeezing the warm hand on her belly.

Jack leaned over and kissed his wife on the forehead. "How are you feeling?" he whispered.

Laira's face fell briefly. "The same," she replied sadly.

"You might not be able to tell immediately," he returned, rubbing his hand softly on her stomach.

Laira smiled. "I knew right away with Garan."

"We'll keep trying," Jack replied in a gentle voice.

Laira's smile grew. "I like the sound of that," she said and leaned up to kiss her husband.

The kiss was short and Jack pulled away, getting out of bed. "You stay and rest, I've got to help Paynan today with the new well. I should be gone most of the day."

Laira nodded and laid back down. "Be well, Jack."

Jack nodded as he slipped his shirt over his head and started out the door. It had taken him over three months to accept his life here. Three months to give up his dream of finding Sam and living happily ever after. She was gone, who knew where, and he was stuck on a planet on the other side of the galaxy.

He thought of her everyday, prayed to whatever benevolent being was listening that someone would find her and get her home safely. But, with him stuck on another planet, cut off from the rest of the universe, he knew it wouldn't be he who rescued her. He had failed her. And now, he was starting a new life. A life he would have never chosen for himself, but was quickly becoming content with.

He had married Laira a month ago. She wanted him to father her a child, and the thought of being a father again was very appealing to the stranded colonel. With a few strong drinks in his system, he consented to Laira's request and, after many nights of trying to conceive a child, he agreed to marry her as well.

He followed the path towards the new well the village men were digging when he heard a name he had not heard in over six months. "O'Neill!"

Jack, his heart stopping at the sound of the voice, briefly wondered if he was still in bed dreaming. Slowly he turned his head and took in a sight he never, before now, would have considered a beautiful sight.

"Teal'c!" Jack cried in disbelief.

"It is I, O'Neill," Teal'c replied, walking in long strides to reach his long-lost friend. He was covered in dirt and mud from his long dig up to the surface, but Jack failed to see it. All he saw was the beautiful, magnificent sight of his friend standing before him.

Without another word, Jack lunged himself at Teal'c, hugging the large jaffa very uncharacteristically.

"It is good to see you as well, O'Neill," Teal'c replied, pulling the colonel off of him.

"You're one hell of a sight for sore eyes, Teal'c!" Jack cried, tears, unknowingly, cascading down his weathered cheeks.

After the reunion, the village men joined Jack and Teal'c and dug up the stargate. Within the week, the stargate and DHD were back up and working, the Edoran refugees finally coming home after half a year away.

Jack was confused as to what to do. He had made a commitment to Laira. He had agreed to spend the rest of his life with her. But, that was when he had no hopes of going home. No hopes of regaining his life, no hopes of finding Sam. How could he tell her that? How could he tell his wife that now that he had the chance to resume his life, he wanted to go back? Go back without her.

He couldn't. He knew he could not do that to the woman who had given him a place to live, who fed him and sheltered him and loved him even when he no longer loved himself. He could not just leave her and break her heart.

He wasn't that type of person.

He couldn't just leave her.

"Come back with me."

"My place is here."

"Please, Laira, I have to go back. Come with me. We will come back whenever you want to. Come, see my world."

Laira smiled up at her husband as he smirked at her with his sexy grin. "Okay."

**-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

"Colonel," Hammond said with sad eyes as he gestured for his subordinate to have a seat in his office. "What I'm about to order you to do is going above and beyond the call of duty. I never would have even considered you turning it down before, but now, with you bringing home a wife and starting a new life, I have my doubts."

"What is it, sir?"

Hammond sighed and leaned forward in his leather chair. "Many of our alien allies have complained about stolen technology. We believe it has to do with the rogue group holding Captain Carter. The joint chiefs and our allies are insisting you go under cover to find this rogue group. I know what this will mean for you, son. I wish it wasn't an order."

"I understand, sir. I promised to find Sam, sir. Now that I'm finally back on earth, I'm not going to turn down an opportunity to do that."

"And Laira?" the general asked.

Jack looked at his CO with lost eyes. "I don't know, sir."

Hammond nodded. "We'll figure it all out, son."

With that, the two men started planning Jack's undercover op.

**-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

Sam was in her quarters, reading the blackened pages of SGC mission reports at the small desk. It was frustrating to have so many words and names blacked out, but at the same time, it was better than nothing, and Sam thrived on the knowledge she was gaining from the reports Maybourne managed to get through to her.

A light tap on the door interrupted her reading and, in an annoyed voice that had been the norm for her as of late, she called out, "What?"

The door opened and Neumann's head poked in. "Hey, Carter, Maybourne sent you a surprise," he announced with a huge grin plastered on his smug face.

Sam sat up a little more on her chair. She wasn't expecting anything from Maybourne for another month, so this was quite an unexpected surprise. Sam's face brightened at the thought of something new to play with.

"Surprise," Neumann said and opened the door wider.

There, standing just slightly behind Neumann, was Jack.

Sam gaped at the man. Her eyes wide and her mouth open, unable to close and form words.

Jack smirked and stepped into the room. "Miss me?" he asked, stepping closer to her.

As if his voice was proof that the man before her wasn't some sort of extreme hallucination, Sam shook herself out of her stupor and jumped into Jack's arms.

Neumann left the two alone.

"What are you doing here?" Sam breathed into his neck.

"Undercover," he whispered back.

"It's about time."

"I know, baby, I know."

When Lt. Katie Axania opened the door to her quarters after returning from a mission, she was not expecting to get yelled at. She was also most definitely not expecting to see what she saw.

But, with two voices yelling "Get out!" and the sight of a man's naked back and a woman's bare leg on Sam's bed, she quickly complied and shut the door.

Grinning, she walked away from the closed door, muttering, "You go, Sam," and wondering who she could corner to tell her who the naked man was in her room.

**-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

It didn't take long for Jack to discover that Makepeace was the leak, and as soon as he did, he dialed the stargate to earth and walked through with Sam.

Sam had told him that many of the rogue agents had been forced into working for Maybourne off-world, and with her overwhelmingly long time off world with them, she was able to tell Jack which operatives should be arrested and which ones were as innocent as she in the whole mess.

Jack held the gate open as the operatives walked through the gate to earth, many getting arrested immediately. The rest mostly breaking out in tears of relief at finally coming home.

After all the operatives were through the gate, Jack pulled his hand out and the wormhole disengaged. Walking down the ramp, he took a set of zip-cuffs from Makepeace and proceeded to put them on the disgraceful marine.

Makepeace started yelling and threatening Jack while Tobias looked on with wide, shocked eyes, desperately worried that she would be the next to be arrested. She locked eyes with Makepeace and almost cried aloud when she saw the look of fear there. Her face paled even more at the sight and her own body shook uncontrollably as she realized how much trouble she was going to soon be in.

Sam hugged Daniel, Teal'c, General Hammond, and Janet and then found her way back into the arms of Jack. She leaned up and kissed him on the lips, every ounce of her soul dancing in glee that her misery was finally over.

A few seconds later, she felt Jack's grip lessen on her and she turned to see a brown-haired woman walk into the gate room and approach the group of merry people. Sam saw the guilty look on Jack's face as he peered at the strange woman. "Who is that?" Sam asked him in a low voice.

"My wife," Jack told her, his eyes refusing to meet hers.

**-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

Hee hee! (hides behind chair from flying objects being thrown directly at me) Hee hee! Look at the bright side, Sam's back home! Hee hee!


	11. Chapter 11

a/n: After all the threats and flying objects aimed at my head, I decided to post another update and put you all out of your misery. This chapter is for liketoread, who was the only one who asked about Jack's undercover op.

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**Chapter 11**

Sam's face fell at Jack's words. '_His wife?_' What was going on? Sam took a step away, her pain-filled eyes searching out her friends for some sort of silent answer. Just then, another figure emerged out of nowhere and Sam leapt into his arms.

"DAD!" she cried, hugging her dad with everything she had.

"Sammie," he breathed, hugging his baby girl to him tightly. "Oh, thank God you're back."

Everyone watched the reunion, their backs stiff with tension. "Sooo," Daniel was the first to speak up. "That whole guilt-trip about marrying Laira and that big fight between you and Jacob?"

"Staged," Jack quickly replied, still standing awkwardly in the gate room between Sam and Laira.

General Hammond spoke up. "Jack has been undercover since before Jacob came through the gate and argued with Jack about Laira. We set it all up so everyone would believe Jack wasn't happy with his life married to Laira and decided to quit the Air Force and go off world to find Captain Carter. The staged fight was meant to be the final push to get Jack to act out of character. He quit, after punching Jacob…."

"You punched my dad?" Sam gasped.

"It's okay, sweetie, he didn't hurt me," Jacob quickly defended.

Sam turned back and looked at her dad with apprehensive eyes.

"Anyways," Hammond continued. "Maybourne recruited him, telling him he knew where Carter was and if he wanted to see her again, to join his team. Jack agreed and came to the base, asking me to let him go through the gate. I agreed, and Jack left, with the cover that Laira was staying on earth for medical care in the event she might be pregnant…"

Sam's eyes shot to the brunette at this and her face paled at the news. Pregnant?

General Hammond saw the grief-stricken look that crossed the captain's face and decided it would be best to finish this elsewhere. Before he was able to get any more words out, he heard Sam's soft voice speak up.

"You were undercover….the whole time," she asked, her bright blue eyes piercing into Jack.

He lowered his head, unable to look her in the eye. "Yeah," came his quiet reply.

"Captain, if you'll come with me, I need to get your statement," Hammond finally found his voice again.

Sam nodded and she and her dad preceded the general out of the gate room. As they walked past the commander of the SGC, Hammond turned his steely gaze on Jack, already knowing just how far the colonel had taken his undercover mission.

Sam spent three hours in the briefing room with her dad and the general, going over everything that had happened since going to her meeting all that time ago with Maybourne. When she was finally finished, she asked to be excused so she could FINALLY take a shower.

General Hammond grinned as he dismissed her, informing her she was to remain on base until further notice.

**---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

Jack's briefing was much shorter, and lucky for Jack, didn't include a certain general/tok'ra/dad. Jack sat down at the table and told Hammond everything that had happened from the time he stepped through the gate.

"We have a problem, Jack," Hammond told him somberly once Jack had finished his statement.

"Oh?" Jack asked, his eyebrows shooting up in concern.

Hammond pressed the button on the recorder that had recorded Sam's briefing. Her voice filled the room. "Sound familiar?" Hammond asked the colonel.

Jack looked at his CO as Sam's voice informed them how Maybourne had given her files and information and ordered her to make different devices, experiments, and more particularly, a particle beam accelerator needed to rescue a member of SG-1 who was trapped off-world.

"Shit," Jack groaned. "Tobias."

Hammond nodded. "I'd like to get to her as quietly as possible. We don't need to make a huge scene out of this."

Jack nodded in agreement.

**SECURITY TO THE COMMISSARY! SECURITY TO THE COMMISSARY!**

Jack and Hammond both jumped up as the speakers blared throughout the base. Without hesitation, the two men hurried to the commissary.

When they got there, they were shocked to see Claire standing on one of the tables, a gun in her hand. "Tobias! What the hell are you doing?" Jack yelled, taking a step closer to the lieutenant.

"Stay back, sir!" she yelled, her body shaking uncontrollably. "I don't want to shoot you."

"What are you doing, Claire?" he asked, his voice softening.

Claire looked at her CO, blinking to dislodge the tears in her eyes. "I didn't want to do it! I didn't want to! He made me!"

"Okay," Jack quickly replied, taking another step closer. "We'll sort it all out. Don't worry about it."

Claire's shoulders slumped as some of the tension released from her shoulders. But, as the door to the commissary opened and footsteps sounded behind Jack, her shoulders tensed once again and she aimed her gun behind Jack.

"It's all her fault!" Claire screamed, the gun shaking in her hands.

Jack turned to see the wide, shocked eyes of Sam.

"Why is it always about you, Carter? Why? Everywhere I go, it's Carter this, Carter that! Carter has the highest marks at the Air Force Academy. Carter is the golden child at the Pentagon. Carter figured out what the stargate was. Carter's beautiful. Carter's a genius. Carter! Carter! Carter! I'm SICK OF IT! Why you? Why is it always YOU? Colonel O'Neill loves you, everyone on base loves you! Even when you disappeared, everyone still talked about you, searched for you! Why? What is so God damn special about YOU?"

Sam just stood there in shock as the agitated lieutenant continued to rant about her. Her eyes were wide and she was frozen in her spot, staring down the barrel of Claire's hand gun.

"Claire," Jack hissed, trying to get her attention on him. "You have to stop this! See all the SF's, they WILL shoot you! Please, hand me the gun," Jack coaxed, lifting his hand towards the distraught woman on the table.

Claire turned her gaze back to Jack, a look of sadness and defeat crossing her face before she saw Sam shift out of the corner of her eyes. Her eyes hardened instantly. "No," she spat, before firing her pistol.

"NO!" Jack screamed, diving at Sam and pushing her to the ground.

More shots went off in the background and he heard Claire's body fall from the table and smack the concrete floor hard.

"Sam, Sam," he cried, holding Sam in his arms, tears streaking down his face.

"Jack! Jack!" Sam yelled, trying to get Jack's attention as he cried on top of her. "I'm fine! Jack, I'm fine. I wasn't shot! Jack! Jack! Please, I'm fine, look!" Sam yelled, shaking him with her hands, trying to get his attention.

"What?" Jack finally whispered, her words finally sinking into his head.

Sam let out a small laugh. "I'm fine," she whispered back, her eyes locking on his, so much warmth and love radiating between them. "I'm fine."

Jack dropped his head back down, this time hugging her in relief.

Sam felt something wet and lifted her head back up, pushing Jack off her enough so she could investigate. "Oh God! Jack, you've been hit!" she exclaimed in horror.

"What?" Jack gasped and looked down at where Sam's hand was. "Oh!" he finished, seeing blood oozing from his side. "I didn't even feel it," he announced just as two airmen pulled him off Sam and helped him on a gurney.

He was carried out of the commissary, yelling the whole time for Janet to check Sam, insisting she needed to be checked before him. Sam followed behind, grief taking over and making her stay close to the man she loved.

Laira stood in the commissary, watching with wide eyes as her husband was wheeled out of the room, screaming another woman's name.

**---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

Once Claire had fired her weapon, the SF's in the room immediately returned fire, shooting and killing the young lieutenant. Her lifeless body laying crumpled on the cold floor of the commissary.

Jack was given a sedative once he was delivered to the infirmary and a nurse checked over Sam as Janet tended to Jack.

"Sam," Jack croaked the very moment he woke.

"No, Jack, I'm sorry, she's not here," Laira's quiet voice sounded next to him.

"Laira?"

"Yes, it's me. How are you feeling?"

Jack groaned. "Like I've been shot," he grumbled.

"You were shot, Jack. Don't you remember?" the woman asked, cocking her head at her husband in worry.

Jack sighed. "Yeah, I know. I was being sarcastic," he sadly replied.

"Oh. I see," Laira quietly returned.

The room soon filled with tension as neither could think of anything to say to the other. Jack breathed a sigh of relief when he heard Janet's clip-clopping pace enter the infirmary and approach his curtained-off section.

"Hello, colonel. How are you feeling?" Janet asked, not even looking at him as she pushed open the curtain.

"Like I've been shot!" Jack repeated.

Janet laughed. "I'd say that's a good sign. You're lucky, the bullet passed right through. You should heal completely."

"Good," Jack replied. "How's Sam?"

Janet looked over at Laira, wondering if Jack even cared that the woman was by his side. "She's fine, colonel. She wasn't hit. She has a small bruise from you knocking her to the ground, but she's perfectly fine."

"Can I see her?" Jack asked, both women hearing the desperation in his voice.

Janet swallowed and looked at the chart in her hand, not knowing how to respond. "I'm afraid she's not here, sir."

Jack crinkled his forehead. "Well, where the hell is she? Hammond said she had to stay on base!" he barked, his agitation slicing through the room.

Janet kept her eyes on the chart, shifting nervously on her feet. "She's been moved to a safe place while the men involved in the rogue group are found and arrested."

"What? Just like that! She's gone again?"

Janet bit her lip. "I'm afraid so, sir. At least for now."

**-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

Jack was released from the infirmary a few days later. As he was being released, he realized that he hadn't seen Laira since the day before and headed off to his quarters to see if she was there. Even after several weeks of being on earth, she had not been cleared to leave the mountain yet and she and Jack had been staying on base, with Jack only going home when he had gone undercover.

He walked into his quarters and saw Laira packing her few belongings in to a large bag. "Honey, what's going on?" Jack asked as he stepped in the room. "Did you get cleared to leave the mountain?"

Laira set the bag down and turned to face her husband. "No. I'm returning to Edora."

"What? Why? I can't go right now, there is too much going on. They're arresting the men involved and there's going to be trials and…."

"I know," Laira cut off. "I was going home alone…..for good."

Jack squinted his eyes at his wife. "What?"

Laira closed her eyes, trying to find the right words to say. "Jack, I'm sorry. I took advantage of your situation," she swallowed the lump in her throat. "I knew you were grieving over your life, I knew you weren't happy on Edora, so I offered you the one thing I knew you craved….a family. I'm sorry. I thought if I could just give you another child, that you would love me and be happy with me…"

"Laira…"

"Don't!" she cut back in. "You love HER! I knew it then, and I still know it now. I took advantage of you, and for that I am deeply sorry."

"What about having a baby?" Jack cried.

"I'm not pregnant, Jack. Dr. Frasier confirmed it this morning. I can't have any more children. She told me my uterus was damaged, probably when I had Garan. She said I was lucky that I had not bled to death back then. I'm sorry."

Jack shook his head. "It's not your fault," he said in a low voice. "I'm sorry, too. I guess…..I guess I used you too."

Laira nodded sadly. "Perhaps, in another life time, we could have been good together?"

Jack smiled warmly. "Perhaps," he whispered and hugged his wife good-bye.

**---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

From the time Sam had arrived and made friends with Katie, the two had begun talking to the other agents, figuring out which ones had been deceived or forced into joining the rogue group. Befriending several of them, Sam had started having them collect information and evidence that would link the rogue group to the people involved on earth, in case they were ever rescued. By the time Jack had come, the group had collected enough evidence to indict Senator Kinsey, Col. Maybourne, Col. Simmons, and several other players involved.

With so many influential people being arrested and charged with very serious crimes, the threat on Sam and her group was quite high. Not taking any chances, the president ordered that the small group be moved immediately into protective custody until the trials were over.

A month after being put in protective custody, Sam was severely dehydrated. She had been throwing up for a week, and was unable to keep anything down. She was taken to the hospital, the men protecting her worried that she had somehow been poisoned.

She sat on the small bed in her private room waiting for her test results. Axania sat with her, insisting she accompany her friend to the hospital. Sam was hooked up to an IV and as her body finally re-hydrated, she felt her energy return as well.

It wasn't long before the doctor returned, the guards still standing in the doorway, on alert. "Mrs. McPherson," he announced, using the name he was given, unaware that it was not her real name.

"Yes," Sam replied.

"You are going to be just fine."

"Oh," Sam asked. "Was I poisoned?"

The doctor smiled. "No, you were not poisoned. You're pregnant."

**-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**


	12. Chapter 12

a/n: This is the last chapter. Thank you to everyone who has read and reviewed. Your thoughts and comments mean a lot to me, especially considering how much trouble I had writing this story. 'Shades of Grey,' was never one of my favorite episodes, so basing this story mainly from that episode was very trying. I'd like to acknowledge Katie (bamagirl) and Axania (Axania chic) whose combined personalities inspired the character Lt. Katie Axania. I am planning on finishing off my last lingering fic on this site and then start posting a miniJack story that I've already started writing, so stay tuned!

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**Chapter 12**

Three months after Sam was moved to protective custody, the trials finally began. Jack, General Hammond, and Dr. Frasier were all summoned to court and eagerly arrived at the military courthouse in DC early Monday morning.

They were sitting in the long, wooden benches lining each side of the large corridor outside the courtroom. Several men and women had already arrived and entered the courtroom, but as all three of them were testifying, they were ordered to remain outside until they were called in.

It was still early. The trial wasn't due to start for another hour. Jack shifted in the hard seat, his weery eyes scanning the people walking past them in the busy corridor. Janet was sitting on an identical bench on the other side of the corridor. Every time he shifted, she would raise her eyes to his and give him a piercing glare. She knew he was impatient, bored, and frustrated, but his constant moving was driving her crazy.

General Hammond sat a few feet down from Jack, and thus far, seemed unaffected by Jack's fidgetting, or by the childlike glares passing between two of his finest officers.

After another fidget and groan from Jack, and another glare from Janet, all three officers turned their heads to the sound of the elevator dinging and the doors sliding open. Two men stepped out, donned in their court-room best. And, right behind them, Jack's heart stopped as he took in the blonde hair and blue eyes of Samantha Carter.

"Sam!" he exclaimed, standing up and approaching in long strides. A large grin spread across his face.

Immediately, one man stepped in front of Sam, effectively blocking her from Jack, while the other reached his hand out and stopped Jack from advancing on her. "I'm sorry, sir, please keep your distance," the man in front of him said.

"What? Why? She's my…." Well, what the hell was she now? Before, he always considered her to be his girlfriend, but after the whole Laira fiasco and Sam finding out the way she had, he was pretty sure she wouldn't go along with that title anymore……"friend," he finished sadly, his eyes desperately trying to find hers, with no luck.

"It's okay," Sam's sweet voice sounded out behind the two suits. "He's okay," she said again, her voice sounding like magic to Jack's ears.

The two guards stepped away, and before Jack could get a command to his feet to move, he felt two forms brush past him and saw Sam disappear into the embrace of Janet and General Hammond.

Jack stood there and watched them hug. For the first time, he felt unsure of himself. The last three months he had berated and chastised himself constantly for hurting Sam the way he had. He never should have gotten involved with Laira, never! But, he had, and he had hurt the woman he loved in the process. But, without Sam around for him to beg forgiveness to, it was easy for him to assume she would forgive him. Now, seeing her in person, his heart beat erratically at the thought that she might not be as forgiving as he had imagined.

Janet and Hammond finally stepped back, and Jack was once again, awarded the image of Sam. He smiled shyly at her, unsure whether or not he should approach her. "Hi," he rasped out, his voice betraying him.

Sam smiled warmly back. "Hi."

Awkwardly, Jack took a step towards her and held out his arms. Giving her the choice to hug him or not. She looked nervously in his eyes and then down to his outstretched hands. He could almost hear the thoughts running through her head. Tentatively, she took a step forward and looked up into his dark brown eyes.

They were so warm, so full of love, and before she knew it, he had wrapped his arms around her and pulled her the rest of the way into his arms. "God, I've missed you," he breathed in her hair, holding her tight with one hand and slowly stroking her back with the other.

"Me too," she whispered, closing her eyes tightly to keep any tears from escaping. Her hormones had been all out of whack for the past two months, and she had become very emotional.

Along with her hormones, her sense of smell had increased significantly, and at the moment, she was filled with the smell of Jack. His shampoo, aftershave, the intoxicating cologne he used, his body soap, the natural smell of his skin, she could smell it all, and her body craved it desperately. The hormones had her body going crazy, and now that she was in Jack's arms, she never wanted to leave. Her body cried out for his, a need for him she didn't know her body craved so intensely until that very second she walked into his arms.

"You okay?" his soft voice asked, still holding on to her as if his life depended on it.

"Yeah, they took good care of me. You?"

"Yeah, good. Missed you," he murmured, dipping his head into the crook of her neck.

It was at this point, when her body was humming in joy at his touch, basking in his warmth, that she remembered his wife. As if burned, she stepped back and out of his grasp. "I-I shouldn't have, I'm sorry, that was probably inappropriate," she started stammering.

Jack wrinkled his eyebrows in confusion at Sam's sudden distance. "What are you talking about?"

"I-you, we shouldn't, it's not right," she continued stammering. Sam was starting to look a little pale, her body raging at the sudden loss of warmth and peace Jack's embrace had provided. As if that wasn't enough, her stomach flipped at the sudden agitation, and Sam's senses were filled with a multitude of smells that did not mesh well.

She closed her eyes and desperately tried to breathe through her mouth as the potent smells assaulted her. The smell of the fresh-waxed floors, the smell of bleach wafting out from the bathrooms, the pine air freshener that was attached to the wall adjacent the bathrooms, the smell of stale coffee still in the foam cups the SG members had sitting on the benches. It was too much. The smells were mingling and her stomach couldn't take it.

Janet noticed the pasty complexion that had risen on Sam's face, and the beads of sweat that were forming. Worried she might be having a panic attack, Janet took a step towards her. "Are you alright, Sam," she asked.

But, the smell of coffee-breath was enough to do the captain in, and clutching her stomach, Sam moaned, "Oh, God!" and ran into the women's restroom.

Janet turned worried eyes to Jack and General Hammond before chasing after the ill-woman. "Sam?" she softly called, entering the restroom.

Unbeknownst, to either woman, Jack had followed Janet into the bathroom, and stood at the door.

Janet entered the stall that Sam hadn't had time to lock in her rush to the toilet bowl where she was currently retching in to. Janet stroked her back in comfort. "You okay?" she asked, once it seemed Sam's body was coming back under her own control.

"Yeah," Sam croaked out. "Just give me a minute," she breathed, closing her eyes and trying to catch her breath.

"Does this happen a lot?" Janet asked, still thinking Sam just had a panic attack.

"It has been," Sam whispered hoarsely. "The doctor said it should stop anytime now."

"Because of the trial?" Janet asked in confusion.

Sam lifted her head out of the bowl and leaned against the wall. "No, she said it usually doesn't last after the three month mark."

"The three month mark?" Janet repeated in confusion, and then, realization dawned in the medical officer. "You're pregnant!"

Sam nodded, her body still shaking from the sudden onslaught.

"When, three months," Janet asked and then answered her own question just as fast. "Who?"

Sam looked up at her friend with sad blue eyes, never expecting a happy ending with the father of her child.

Janet read the look immediately. "You slept with Colonel O'Neill when he was undercover," she whispered.

Sam licked her lips and nodded, her cheeks flushing, even though her face was still quite white. "It was just once," she croaked out. "But, it wasn't like condoms were high on Maybourne's list of items to ship through the gate, so…" Sam trailed off.

Janet nodded, still trying to recover from the unexpected news. "When did you find out?"

Sam coughed, trying to dislodge the nasty taste from the back of her mouth before it caused her to vomit again. "Uh, about two months ago. I was in protective custody and my guards thought I had been poisoned," Sam laughed dryly.

Janet grinned. "Are you going to tell him?" she asked seriously.

Sam closed her eyes and forced herself to take deep breaths. "I don't know. I know I should, he has a right to know, but he's got his own family with Laira and…"

"No, Sam, he doesn't," Janet interrupted.

Sam's blue eyes locked on the brown ones of her friend.

"She left him and went back to Edora, she knew he was in love with you."

"But…..what about the baby?" Sam squeaked.

"What baby?" Janet asked in confusion.

"They said, they said Laira was pregnant with Jack's child, that's why she stayed on earth when Jack went undercover."

"No, Sam, that was just a cover. Laira was never pregnant. She wanted to be, but she's no longer capable of having children. She left Jack right after you went into custody."

Sam felt her heartbeat speed up. Could it be true? She had cried herself to sleep for months thinking she had lost her chance with Jack. Because of her stupid desire to bring down the NID, she had compromised her relationship with Jack and ultimately lost him to a woman who would leave her own world to be with him. He deserved to be happy, and she deserved to be miserable, and as she had stroked her still-flat stomach, she knew she would regret her meeting all that time ago with Maybourne every time she looked at their child, their child she would have to raise alone.

But now, was it possible? Could she still have a chance at happiness? She knew she didn't deserve it. She had taken him for granted, expected him to wait for her, and at the same time, save her whenever she needed it. She was selfish. She had been all too well-aware of that while holed up in protective custody. She didn't deserve him. He had been her knight in shining armor, saving her in more ways than one. He deserved so much more than her selfishness.

Just then, the stall door opened and Jack's body appeared. "Hey," he softly spoke, his eyes locked on the blonde sitting against the wall.

Janet stood up from her position kneeling next to Sam. "Should I leave you two alone?" she asked, looking from Sam to Jack and back again.

Sam nodded and Jack cleared his throat as he held the door open for her exit.

Janet, her eyes filled with concern, looked at the two remaining occupants one more time before leaving the restroom.

Jack walked into the small stall, happy that Sam had picked the larger handicapped stall when she bolted in. Lifting his pant legs to give him slack, he sat down next to her, taking her hand in his. "You're pregnant?" he whispered.

"You heard?" she whispered back, not lifting her head.

"Yeah, I was standing at the door. I heard everything."

Sam just nodded in response.

"Sooo, will you forgive me?" Jack asked, his voice filled with uncertainty.

Sam lifted her head and looked at him. "For what?"

Jack gazed in her beautiful blue depths, knowing how easy it is to get lost in them. "For Laira, for not getting to you sooner, for letting Tobias almost shoot you, for making you think you'd have to go through all this alone, take your pick."

"Do you forgive me?" she asked quickly, her eyes searching his.

Jack crinkled his forehead. "What? There's nothing to forgive you for."

"Yes there is," Sam cried. "I was so selfish. My life was perfect. I was adopting Cassie, I had you, I had a position at the SGC. I could've taken it all and been so happy, so happy with you. But, I didn't, I had to prove myself, Jack. I was selfish. I'm so sorry! I could've walked away, I could have been with you all this time, but I didn't. I spent all this time on a stupid planet doing stupid stuff and wasting away my life, losing my chance with you."

Jack took Sam's chin in his hand and turned her so she was looking in his eyes. "You never, _never_ lost your chance with me!" he snapped. "You are the most unselfish person I know, Sam. Yes, I would have loved to have had the fairy-tale life with you and Cassie, but that would have been going against who you are, Sam, why I love you so much. You couldn't have walked away from that meeting anymore than I could have walked away from the SGC. It's who you are, who I love."

Sam pulled out of Jack's hand and covered her face with her own, a loud sob escaping. "I just….I just feel like I've wasted so much time with you, I took advantage of your love."

"Well, apparently, I'm easy to take advantage of," Jack tried to joke. "I'd do it all over again, Sam. All of it. It was worth it. Look what you did, look at what you accomplished! Not only did you bring down Maybourne and all his cronies, but you got Simmons and Kinsey too! No one else would have been able to pull off what you did. No one! You were the only person for this job, Sam……I had to put my life, our life on hold, but it was worth it, every second of it. And now, you're back, we're about to fry those rat bastards, and Hammond's got a shiny new position and a promotion all ready and waiting for you back home. Cassie is ecstatic, waiting for you to come home, and my house is even waiting for your return."

"Your house?" Sam asked, a small grin fighting for it's place on her face.

Jack smirked. "Oh yeah, especially my bed!" he teased.

Sam giggled. "We're going to be okay?" she asked tentatively.

Jack pulled her onto his lap, his hand running through her blonde locks. "Always, Sam," he whispered, then pulled her down to his lips.

When they finally parted, Sam stood up, her body finally feeling hers again. She grabbed Jack's hands and pulled him up after her. Grinning, she looked at him and said, "Let's go fry some rat bastards."

Jack grinned. "That's my girl!" he exclaimed, taking her hand and leading her out of the restrooms.

**---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

The trials lasted for weeks, as each defendant had his/her own trial. The evidence Sam and her allies had accumulated was extensive, and there wasn't one person on trial who wasn't found guilty. Kinsey's trial had been way too much fun for Jack, he smirked and laughed as the former senator fumed in his seat, his face turning several shades of red as the trial progressed.

When it was all over and Sam was finally released from protective custody, Jack refused to leave her side. A huge welcome home party greeted the couple when they returned to Colorado Springs. Just as Jack had said, Sam was immediately promoted to major on her first day of work at the SGC. Being pregnant, she was denied gate-travel for the time being, but was put in charge of research and development, something that had not been going too well in her absence. She had moved in with Jack, and even though Cassie was happy with Janet, the young girl often came and spent time with Sam, a woman she would always think of as another mother.

They still had their problems, arguments, annoyances, as every couple do, but they wouldn't change it for the world, or the universe, for that matter.

Many of the rogue agents who were innocent, found jobs at the SGC, including Lt. Katie Axania. She and Sam remained friends throughout the years, and she worked very closely with Daniel, who had, surprisingly, taken Martouf's death from a zatarc incident very hard.

Daniel found the whole thing with Martouf very disconcerting, and had eventually seeked counseling. He was having a hard time separating Jolinar's thoughts from his own, and was quite irritated that he was finding men attractive. With the help of Dr. Mackenzie, Daniel was able to distinguish between his own desires and those of Jolinar, and finally started dating women again, though he still had a penchant for fashion magazines.

Two years after Katie Axania joined the SGC, she met a young alien man by the name of Jonas Quinn. She quickly fell in love with the dimpled, banana-loving man and when he returned to Kelowna, a little over a year later, she went with him, willing to leave her own world, her own life behind to be with him.

As the stargate engaged to return the Kelownan to his home world, his new bride by his side, Sam hugged her long-time friend good-bye. "I'll miss you," Sam told her.

Katie smiled up at the major. "I'll miss you too," she admitted before letting go of Sam completely. Taking a few steps up the ramp, she turned back around to Sam and raised her hand up in the air. "To politics!" she cheered.

Sam and Jack both grinned. "To politics!" Sam agreed, smiling warmly as her two friends walked to the wormhole, eager to start their new life together, a life they hoped was as wonderful as the one they had observed between Jack and Sam. A life that would have never been if not for politics!

The End.


End file.
